MeitY's SGI Rules Rattle Big Tech: High Compliance Costs, Legal Risks Feared

• MeitY's new SGI rules, effective February 20, introduce 'synthetically generated information' into India's digital regulatory framework, defining it as AI-created or altered content appearing real.
• Industry stakeholders welcome clearer definitions but express concern over drastically reduced content takedown timelines (3 hours for unlawful content, 2 hours for explicit content) and expanded due-diligence obligations.
• The amendments require platforms to deploy technical measures to prevent creation/dissemination of illegal SGI and mandate labeling of AI-generated content, with SSMIs needing user declarations and verification tools.
• Legal experts like Namita Viswanath highlight the absence of a risk-based classification for SGI, potentially leading to compliance ambiguity and significant operational challenges for intermediaries.
• Concerns about feasibility, over-moderation, and potential chilling effects on free speech could lead to legal challenges, as non-compliance risks loss of safe harbor protection under Section 79 of the IT Act.