In a significant move to tackle the growing threat of digitally manipulated media, the Gujarat High Court has issued notices to major technology intermediaries, including Meta India, Google, X (formerly Twitter), Reddit, and Scribd. The court’s intervention follows a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a robust regulatory framework to curb the creation and viral spread of AI-generated “deepfake” videos and photographs.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice D.N. Ray issued the notices, returnable on May 8. The court has directed these platforms to join the “Sahyog” portal—a centralized government initiative designed to ensure time-bound action and better coordination for the removal of unlawful content in compliance with the Information Technology Act, 2000.
The court’s order, made available this week, emphasizes that the “effective and meaningful responses” of these tech giants are essential to meeting their statutory due diligence obligations. The judicial scrutiny comes as both the Union and Gujarat governments flagged persistent hurdles in dealing with social media platforms.
In affidavits submitted to the court, authorities highlighted frequent delays and procedural non-compliance by several intermediaries. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) specifically pointed out a lack of cooperation from X. According to the MHA, out of 94 intimations sent to X regarding unlawful content between 2024 and 2026, formal responses were received for only 13.
“The alarming low rate of formal responses results in lack of meaningful cooperation with the lawfully issued directions,” the Ministry stated. The government argued that such conduct breaches the amended IT Rules of 2026 and severely hinders law enforcement agencies from conducting effective investigations or ensuring the timely removal of harmful content.
To address these challenges, the Central government informed the court that it established the Sahyog portal in October 2024. The platform serves as a unified interface for law enforcement and intermediaries to facilitate:
- Immediate takedown of synthetically generated misinformation.
- Swift access to subscriber information and logs.
- Collection of judicial evidence to identify offending users.
While the MHA noted that Meta and Google have significantly improved their compliance speed and traceability, other platforms are yet to be fully integrated into this ecosystem.
The PIL, filed by petitioner Vikas Nair, argues that the current legal framework—including the IT Act, 2000, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita—is inadequate to manage the rapid evolution of AI. Nair contends that deepfakes pose a “serious threat to public order and the functioning of a healthy democracy,” noting their ability to penetrate the social fabric and create “irreversible situations.”
The Gujarat government supported the need for reform, suggesting a framework that mandates real-time coordination and expedited response timelines for digital service providers and internet hosting platforms.
