India Cracks Down on Deepfakes: 3-Hour Takedown Mandate for Social Media

• Central government mandates social media platforms to clearly label AI-generated content and remove objectionable material within three hours.
• Amendments to the Information Technology Rules 2021, effective February 20, define AI-generated content and apply to various intermediaries.
• Synthetically generated information includes audio, visual, or audio-visual content artificially created to appear real, excluding routine editing.
• Platforms must ensure users declare synthetic content, verify declarations, and prominently label confirmed synthetic content.
• Non-compliance with the new rules, including the reduced 3-hour takedown timeline, could lead to platforms losing legal protection (safe harbour).