There was a discussion on social media about Deepfake for a long time but it was never taken so seriously.
For some time now, it has created a stir like this.
Deepfake technology is an advanced machine learning algorithm. In this, such a picture of any person in the real world can be made in which situation he has never gone or can also make a video which he has never done.
It was earlier used to make corrections in images and make them better. Now they are being used to make synthetic human beings. With the help of Artificial Intelligence, this work can be done so cleanly that it is almost impossible to differentiate between real video and machine created video.
If this technology is used for wrong purposes, then the person of the virtual world can be more dangerous than the original person.
There is a very old saying, ‘Seeing is believing’, but in this age of deepfake and fake news it is becoming difficult to understand what is true and what is fake.
Today we will discuss on this topic that
Mainly what kind of crimes are being committed with this technology.
Are there enough laws in India to deal with the new modes of crime that are being invented using deepfake technology?
In this era of social media, the way of communication has completely changed. Most of the news and other information comes to us from unknown sources and is unverified. It becomes difficult to find out how much fake news is there and how much adulteration is there. If it is actually done with an agenda, it is presented so sensationally that the attention goes on it. Then the frequency of its spread is so high that due to repeated appearances, it seems like the truth.
At first it was being used to tamper with photos. By changing the background in someone’s photo, it was shown in a completely different environment. Then by photo morphing, someone else’s face was fitted on someone’s photo.
Now through deep learning, the person’s body language, lip-sync, movements are recorded by algorithm and its fake image is created and its video is made. These are also called Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs).
Such videos are being used more to tarnish someone’s image, to influence/mislead voters, to spread social tension. In our country too, it is being done to spread political unrest, to influence elections.
Let us understand that mainly in which type of crime, deepfake is being used.
Deepfakes targeting women
90% of the use of deepfake on the Internet is being done for non-consensual pornography. It is being used as a very easy tool to hurt the reputation of women or to attack them emotionally. It is being misused to sexually exploit women and extort money from them.
For this kind of work, many WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram groups have been formed which make such photos and videos viral. In such a way that once pornographic photos and videos are circulated on the internet, it is difficult to stop them. It is also very difficult to find out from which IP address it was originated. Taking advantage of this, the number of pornographic photos / videos on social media is increasing day by day.
Every woman who is active on social media can be a potential target of this crime. It is mostly used for revenge porn, intimidation and blackmail.
Google has put “involuntary synthetic pornographic imagery” in its ban list, but the problem will not be solved with it only.
Videos were considered more authentic than photos, but now due to machine learning, it has become a myth.
Deepfakes intended to defame products, service, trademark, and individuals
It is very easy to damage the reputation of any person or brand with the help of Deepfake. Most of the people who do this, do it by creating fake IDs, which are very difficult to track. Many times inquiries have to be dropped in the middle, because proper evidence is not available. Sometimes it takes so long to reach the culprit that by then a lot of damage has been done.
Videos that describe any product as poisonous or hazardous cause a lot of damage to the brands. This is usually done by rival companies.
By doing this to an individual, it is done to spoil his social, political reputation, to extort money, to get some information or to get some work done by intimidation.
The network of those who commit this type of crime is also at the international level. This was a common concern of all the big countries in the recent G7 conference.
Deepfakes by terrorist and insurgent groups
Nowadays many terrorist organizations are also using deepfake. Social tension can be increased by fake videos of any politician or religious leader. Fake news spreads much faster than true news, sometimes two communities can be made to fight, or riots can be made by preparing a particular group against the government.
Then by taking advantage of these riots, these terrorist organizations fulfill their agenda.
LEGAL PROVISIONS
There is no direct law in our country to deal with the problem of deepfake, but there are some laws for crimes committed by using deepfake, which we can take help of.
Right to privacy
The Supreme Court in one of its judgments has considered Right to Privacy as a fundamental right. In 2017 in Justice KS Puttaswamy (Retd.) v Union of India, the court said that privacy is necessary for us to live our lives with dignity, hence under Article 21(Right to Life & Personal Liberty), Right to privacy may also be considered.
Right to privacy also includes informational privacy. According to this, using or sharing someone’s personal information, his photo, video without his consent will be considered a breach of his fundamental right. In sec 66E of the IT Act 2000, it has been considered a punishable offense and it can be punished with imprisonment of up to three years and a fine of up to two lakhs.
The definition of data breach and data leakage has been further elaborated in the Personal Data Protection Bill 2019.
Cyber offenses
If there are offenses related to digital data while using any kind of electronic devices, then they are covered in sec 67 of IT Act 2000.
Publishing or transmitting any kind of objectionable content such as text message, media file, document on the internet is considered a crime in sec 67A.
Uploading, sharing or saving a sexually explicit photo/video of any minor is punishable under sec 67B.
If someone’s signature, unique id or password is published online using deepfake, then it will be covered in sec 67C.
Making a fake ID in someone else’s name and using it, is punishable in sec 67D.
Apart from this, the Central Government can get the public access of any post suspended from intermediary whenever it wants. This government does this only when it is necessary to do so in a larger public interest.
Even if any content can pose a threat to our national sovereignty, the government can block it.
Defamation
Defamation is considered a punishable offense in our country.
Right to Reputation is our fundamental right. This is an inherent part of Article 21 Right to Life & Personal Liberty.
Both civil and criminal suits can be filed in defamation. They are dealt with, in sec 499 of IPC. If crime is established in a criminal case, then the victim can also get compensation.
Earlier Cyber Defamation was dealt with in sec 66A of the IT Act 2000. If abusive or insulting content was put on the internet for someone, then it was considered punishable. In Shreya Singhal vs Union of India, the Supreme Court got this section steped down.
Now all the defamation cases will be dealt in under IPC sec 499 only.
Other offenses
If deepfake is used to intentionally harm someone by tampering with their original photo/video, then it will be considered forgery and IPC sec 468 will be applicable.
If any video prepared by deepfake is instigated or provoked to revolt against the government, then it will be considered as a sedition and charges will be framed under IPC sec 124.
If any deepfake video is used to harm someone’s property or reputation by intimidation, then it will be called criminal intimidation and charges will be framed under IPC sec 506.
Copyright infringement
Using anyone’s copyrighted content for deepfake is a punishable offense. In sec 14 of the Copy Rights Act 1957, provisions for imprisonment and fine have been given for this.
It is not necessary to have copyright registration on the content.
In Amarnath Sehegal vs Union of India (2005), the Supreme Court said that any author has a moral right on his work and is entitled to claim damages if his copyright infringes.
Conclusion
The speed of development of technology is very fast. It is possible that no government can do the work of making new laws or amending existing laws with this speed.
But still a lot can be done so that we can control the malicious use of deepfake.
The government can appoint such agencies at its level to keep an eye on social media and block any doubtful video by identifying it with the help of Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain technology. If a citizen also reports, then also these agencies can verify and block that content.
Being a responsible citizen, we should also double check the authenticity of any content before posting or sharing it.
There is nothing wrong in criticizing any action of the government. This is a fundamental right given to us under Article 19. Right to peaceful dissent. But spreading any such sentiment through deepfake which raises the issue of law & order should not be justified at all.
Article 19 gives us Freedom of Speech & Expression, but we should also keep in mind that the limit of our rights should be only where we are not encroaching the Right to Privacy of others. What is your opinion about, how the balance between Right to Freedom of speech & expression and Right to Privacy should be maintained?
Thank You
