ECI directs political parties to remove AI-based fake content within 3 hours

New Delhi, May 6: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday warned the political parties against the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) based tools to create deepfakes, emphasising the need to uphold the integrity of the electoral process.

The ECI directed all the political parties to promptly remove any such content within three hours of bringing it to their notice.

Taking note of certain violations of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), the ECI issued fresh directions to the political parties for responsible and ethical use of social media in election campaigning "to ensure a level-playing field among all the stakeholders”.

“The Commission once again directs with emphasis that all the political parties and their leaders must refrain from using in their campaigning any technological/AI-based tools which distorts information or spreads misinformation, which resultantly lowers the standards of electioneering,” the ECI said in a notification.

The parties have also been directed to “warn the person responsible in their party, reporting unlawful information and fake user accounts to respective platforms, and escalate persistent issues to the Grievance Appellate Committee under Rule 3A of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021”.

The other legal provisions include the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Indian Penal Code, and the framework of the twin acts namely the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and 1951, and the provisions of the Model Code of Conduct.