Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi
New Delhi, Dec 24: The Centre has completed consultations with industry stakeholders on its proposal to make labelling of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-generated content mandatory, and the new rules will be notified shortly, a senior official from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said.
MeitY Secretary S Krishnan said the industry has largely been supportive of the proposal and understands the need for identifying AI-generated content. “There has been no major opposition. The industry has been fairly responsible and recognises why such content needs to be labelled,” he was quoted as saying in a report.
However, technology companies have sought greater clarity on the extent of AI usage that would require labelling. They have asked the government to clearly differentiate between substantial AI-driven alterations and routine technical improvements, such as camera or image enhancements that improve quality without changing factual content.
Krishnan said these suggestions are currently being examined in consultation with other ministries. “We are deciding which suggestions to accept, which to modify and what adjustments are required. The process is ongoing, and the revised rules should be issued very shortly,” he said.
Clarifying the government’s intent, Krishnan stressed that the move does not involve imposing new restrictions or asking platforms to register with any third party. “All that is being asked is to label the content. People have the right to know whether what they are seeing or hearing is real or generated using AI,” he said.
The official also noted that even seemingly minor AI edits can sometimes alter the meaning of content, while routine technical enhancements may only improve quality without affecting facts.
In October, the Centre had proposed amendments to the IT Rules to mandate labelling of AI-generated or AI-modified content and to place greater responsibility on large platforms such as Facebook and YouTube to identify and flag such material. The objective is to curb the spread of deepfakes and online misinformation.
The IT ministry has warned that deepfake videos, audio clips and other forms of synthetic media can be misused to create convincing false narratives, harm reputations, manipulate public opinion, influence elections and facilitate financial fraud.
As per the draft rules, platforms will be required to clearly label AI-generated or altered content using visible markers or metadata. For visual content, the label must occupy at least 10 per cent of the screen, while for audio content, the disclosure must appear within the first 10 per cent of the clip.