India proposes strict rules to label AI content

India's government yesterday proposed that artificial intelligence and social media firms should clearly label AI-generated content to tackle the spread of deepfake and misinformation, prompted by similar moves by the European Union and China.

With nearly 1 billion internet users, the stakes are high in a sprawling country of many ethnic and religious communities where fake news risks stirring up deadly strife and AI deepfake videos have alarmed officials during elections.

The new rules require platforms to label AI-generated content with markers covering at least 10 percent of the surface area of a visual display or the initial 10 percent of the duration of an audio clip, placing more responsibilities on the likes of OpenAI, Meta, X and Google.

Social media companies will also have to obtain a user declaration on whether uploaded information is AI-generated, and deploy reasonable technical measures to ensure checks and balances, the Indian government's draft proposal said.

The rules will "ensure visible labelling, metadata traceability, and transparency for all public-facing AI-generated media," India's IT ministry said, inviting suggestions from the public and industry by November 6.