No direction on deepfakes to ECI in midst of polls: HC

The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed a lawyers’ organisation to give a representation to the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding its plea concerning the use of deepfake technologies in the political campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The court also urged the ECI to promptly decide on the representation submitted by the petitioners, considering the urgency of the matter.

A bench comprising acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet PS Arora disposed of the petition, stating that it is not feasible to devise a policy amid ongoing elections.
The court said it trusts the Election Commission of India (ECI), which is a constitutional body, to act on the matter.

“We cannot establish a policy amidst ongoing elections. Once it is within the ECI’s purview, the court’s intervention at this stage would not be appropriate. Currently, courts will refrain from issuing any directives. These matters should be addressed prior to the elections. Courts cannot interfere at the eleventh hour,” the bench remarked.

“It would be improper for the court to impede the jurisdiction of the ECI at this juncture. Let us place our trust in the ECI,” it added.

The court was considering a plea by Lawyer’s Voice, an organization seeking ECI’s direction to formulate and execute necessary guidelines or executive actions to mitigate the public harm and democratic crisis resulting from the widespread use of deepfake technologies in the 2024 election campaign.

The plea also requested directions to various social media platforms to remove and block deepfake content or content related to political candidates or public figures on their platforms until the poll results are declared.