After Sara Tendulkar’s deepfake image with Shubman Gill went viral last year, her father, Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, has fallen victim to it as well. In the deepfake video uploaded online, Sachin Tendulkar was seen promoting a gaming/betting app with claims of people earning lakhs of rupees in a single day by using the app.
However, now the legend has come up and assured that the video is fake and how disturbed he is seeing people misuse technology.
Sachin Tendulkar tweeted regarding the matter on his X account, tagging the Ministry of Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar (Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship of India), and Maharashtra Cyber, encouraging them to take appropriate action.
For those who don’t remember, last year in October, a deepfake image of Sachin Tendulkar’s daughter Sara went viral. The image featured Sara along with her rumored boyfriend, Shubman Gill. However, further inquiry revealed that it wasn’t Shubman but rather her brother, Arjun Tendulkar, who was originally sitting next to her.
Government guidelines to tackle deepfake misuse
Following many such instances, with celebrities like Rashmika Mandhana, Sara, and Sachin Tendulkar also falling victim, the Central government issued guidelines to social media companies to identify and remove deepfake images and videos.
As per a Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology mandate, social media companies have to take action within 36 hours to remove the deepfake images and videos.
Failing to do so may result in legal action under Rule 7 of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules of 2021.
The guidelines issued to social media companies include the following points:
- Vigilance and Identification: Companies are urged to exercise appropriate caution and implement measures to identify false information and deepfake content.
- Timely Action: Swift action should be taken within the specified time frame as prescribed by the IT Rules of 2021.
- User Responsibility: Users are explicitly instructed not to host or promote any misleading or deepfake content.
- Reporting Mechanism: Any such content reported by users should be promptly removed within 36 hours.
- Compliance and Accountability: Social media intermediaries are reminded that failure to operate in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act and Rules may result in punitive action under Rule 7 of the IT Rules of 2021. Such non-compliance could also expose the organization to the loss of protections under Section 79(1) of the Information Technology Act of 2000.
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