I&B minister Ashwini Vaishnaw calls AI deepfakes, fake news a threat to Indian Consti
I&B minister Ashwini Vaishnaw calls AI deepfakes, fake news a threat to Indian Constitution and democracy
M.U.H
03/12/202515
In the winter session of the Parliament on Tuesday, Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw sounded the alarm on a growing menace undermining the nation's democratic fabric: AI-generated deepfakes and fake news proliferating unchecked across social media platforms.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Vaishnaw doubled down on these artificial intelligence manipulations and fake news, even stating that they violate the Indian Constitution and pose an existential threat to democracy. He called for stringent legal measures to combat the crisis.
Vaishnaw's remarks came amid a surge in deepfake-driven misinformation, particularly during election cycles, where deepfake videos were reportedly weaponised to manipulate voters and destabilise public trust.
In 2020, India experienced its first documented use of AI-generated deepfakes in electoral politics when supposed videos of Delhi politician Manoj Tiwari circulated on WhatsApp, falsely depicting him making divisive statements in multiple languages.
What makes these deepfakes constitutionally problematic relates to fundamental rights. Under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right to life and personal liberty, courts have recognised privacy as intrinsic to dignity.
Deepfakes violate this right by enabling unauthorised replication of biometric data, voice, and facial features without consent.
The Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023, India's landmark privacy law, designated "personal data breach" as any unauthorised processing or disclosure that compromises confidentiality, integrity, or availability of data.
Deepfakes constitute precisely this: unauthorised processing of someone's likeness for fabricated narratives.
Research says that deepfakes gradually erode people's trust in the electoral process and suppress voter participation, undermining public trust in democratic institutions.
A recent study on Pakistan's 2024 elections found deepfakes increased political polarisation far exceeding what conventional misinformation could have achieved. There, synthetic audio and video manipulations were deliberately used to evade detection.
India's existing framework—sections 66C, 66D, and 66E of the Information Technology Act, 2000—criminalises identity theft, impersonation, and privacy violations through deepfakes. But enforcement clearly lags behind technological sophistication. Vaishnaw's call for "stringent laws" in the Parliament could be a starting point in acknowledging this policy lag.
