Government will soon meet social media platforms like Meta and Google on deepfake issues and said that Safe Harbour immunity enjoyed by online firms will not apply if they do not take adequate steps to remove deepfakes.

“We had given notice to all the platforms very recently. All the platforms have responded, they are taking their own steps, but we think many more steps will have to be taken and very soon we will have meeting with all the platforms...may be in the next three-four days,” Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Communications, Electronics and IT, told reporters here.

He said the government officials and platforms representatives will have a brainstorming on the issues and make sure that the platforms make adequate efforts for cleaning up their systems.

“Most important is that immunity which these platforms have -- the Safe Harbour under the IT Act -- globally which is acceptable, that will not be applicable if these platforms do not take adequate measures. We are asking them to work day and night/ continuously on these issues,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi too on Friday had cautioned that deepfakes created by artificial intelligence (AI) can lead to a big crisis and stoke discontent in society, as he urged the media to raise awareness about its misuse and educate people.

Meanwhile, when asked about the alleged State-sponsored attacks on Apple phones, Vaishnaw said that both the US-based company and the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) are working on the issue, and soon some results are expected.

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