Centre may table bill to make deepfakes, digital arrest separate offences
The Indian government is planning to introduce legislation to classify digital arrests and AI-generated deepfakes as distinct criminal offenses. This move follows pressure from the Supreme Court, which noted that current penal laws lack specific definitions for these emerging digital crimes.
Why it matters
As digital scams evolve, this legislation could set a legal precedent for how nations define and prosecute sophisticated cyber-extortion and impersonation crimes.
NEW DELHI: Government on Tuesday said it may introduce a bill in the ongoing session of Parliament making digital arrest and AI-generated deepfakes a distinct offence, after Supreme Court pointed out that existing penal laws do not define these offences.Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta said the law will be aimed at categorising digital arrest and AI-generated deepfakes as specific offences with consequential punishments.During suo motu proceedings on the mechanism to curb the menace of digital arrest, a bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said SC has taken a harsh stand against those involved in digital arrest scams and denied them bail, but asked do penal laws define such offences?“You (govt) may need to formally define the case of digital arrest in penal laws,” the bench told attorney general R Venkataramani.“It (digital arrest) has elements of extortion, robbery and organised crime.
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