The Delhi High Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a public interest litigation (PIL) against the circulation of deep fake videos attempting to influence voters during the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.
A division bench of Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet PS Arora agreed to hear the plea on Thursday, pending the verification of the petition’s validity.
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Senior advocate Jayant Mehta, seeking an urgent hearing, stated that it was filed by a lawyers’ body seeking directives to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to ban the circulation of deep fake videos during elections.
Stressing on the urgency, the lawyer noted that general elections are currently underway, and deepfake videos are being disseminated. Additionally, they have submitted a representation to the ECI.
Mehta informed the court that the plea was lodged by a lawyers’ body and urged for urgent listing. The plea aims to compel the Election Commission to intervene and stop the circulation of deep fake videos. Mehta mentioned that despite a representation sent to the ECI, no response was received, Live Law reported.
When the court inquired if the grievance redressal mechanism under the Information Technology Rules, 2021, was pursued, Mehta explained that invoking it would be time-consuming, and by then, the damage caused by the videos would be irreversible. He emphasized that these videos propagate misinformation.
In response, the court acknowledged the challenge posed by technology and suggested applying directly to the platforms hosting the videos.
Mehta noted that social media intermediaries were also contacted under the Information Technology Rules, 2021. The court directed the counsel representing the ECI to seek instructions on the matter. The ECI counsel assured, “We will take instructions.”