Deepfakes And Misappropriation Of Identity: Legal Remedies And Challenges
- IJLLR Journal
- 2 days ago
- 1 min read
Shubham Verma, Ph.D. Scholar, University of Lucknow, Lucknow
Surbhi Khurana, Ph.D. Scholar, Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar
Shobhit Sainesh Awasthi, Ph.D. Scholar, Dr. RML National Law University, Lucknow
ABSTRACT
The proliferation of deepfake technology - audio, video or images created by advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems - has significantly transformed the contemporary media landscape. This technology offers new opportunities for the entertainment, educational, outreach and creative industries in generating realistic deepfake media. Deepfakes may also be used as a tool to propagate disinformation, defame reputation, facilitate identity theft, and also tamper with voting systems and cyber security systems. The increasing sophistication and difficulty of spotting such content further exacerbates the risks to human dignity, democracy and trust.
In India, the current legislative framework, such as the provisions under information technology, criminal and civil laws, in part, address the harms but does not explicitly regulate and control the generation, distribution and abuse of deepfake content. The lack of a dedicated legislative framework results in enforcement, victim and platform accountability shortcomings. This paper maps the technological basis of deepfakes, such as machine learning and neural networks, to gain insight into the extent and nature of the problem. It examines the socio-legal aspects of synthetic media, especially with regard to privacy, freedom of speech and reputation. By comparison with regulatory developments in selected foreign jurisdictions, the study identifies best practices and potential policy pathways. Ultimately, it argues for a rights-oriented and technologically informed legal framework that is able to balance innovation with constitutional safeguards in the emerging digital environment.
Keywords: Deepfake Technology, Misinformation, Digital Rights, Cyber Law, Regulatory Reform.
