The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday issued notices to the Central and State governments on a public interest litigation raising concerns over the misuse of artificial intelligence to create deepfakes and synthetically generated content targeting Constitutional and statutory authorities.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice D.N. Ray also directed the Director General of Police, Gujarat, to file a response. The Court stated that the question of issuing notices to intermediary platforms including Meta, Google, X, Reddit and Scribd would be considered after the governments file their replies.
The PIL has been filed by advocate Vikas Vijay Nair seeking legal reforms and regulatory directions to address the creation and circulation of AI-generated fake videos and photographs of Constitutional authorities.
The petitioner urged the Court to direct authorities and social media intermediaries to immediately prohibit the publication, transmission and communication of AI-generated visual and digital content depicting Constitutional authorities. The plea also sought:
- Mandatory watermarking of all AI-generated content as “AI-generated data”
- Real-time prohibition and prompt takedown of such material
- Framing of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for all police stations and specialised cyber units in Gujarat to deal with AI-created content
- Strict compliance by intermediaries with statutory due diligence, content labelling and traceability requirements
According to the petition, deepfake technology can replicate voices, facial expressions and body movements with high accuracy, making it difficult for the public to distinguish between authentic and manipulated content. The plea states that such misuse leads to confusion, reputational harm and erosion of public trust in institutions.
Advocate General Kamal Trivedi, appearing for the State, submitted that the issue required serious consideration and acknowledged the widespread misuse of deepfakes and synthetic content online, which he said has caused “extensive and irreparable damage.” He also informed the Court that several countries have introduced stringent regulatory measures to address artificial intelligence and deepfake misuse.
The High Court has posted the matter for further hearing on March 20, when responses from the governments and the DGP are expected to be on record.
