New Delhi, Feb 10, KDC: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on Tuesday notified the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2026, introducing a regulatory framework for synthetically generated or AI-created content.
The amendment, issued under the Information Technology Act, 2000, will come into effect from February 20, 2026.
For the first time, the rules define “synthetically generated information” as audio, visual or audio-visual content artificially created or altered using computer resources in a manner that appears real or indistinguishable from actual persons or events. Routine editing, formatting and accessibility improvements have been excluded from this definition.
Under the revised rules, intermediaries and social media platforms enabling synthetic content creation must deploy reasonable and appropriate technical measures, including automated tools, to prevent the generation or dissemination of unlawful AI-generated material. This includes content involving child sexual abuse material, non-consensual intimate imagery, false documents, obscenity, or content that deceptively misrepresents a person’s identity, voice or actions.
Platforms will also be required to prominently label synthetically generated content and embed permanent metadata or technical identifiers to ensure traceability. Modification or removal of such labels has been barred.
Significant social media intermediaries must require users to declare whether content is synthetically generated prior to publication and verify such declarations through technical mechanisms.
The amendment further tightens compliance timelines, reducing certain response periods from 36 hours to three hours and shortening other grievance redressal deadlines.
The rules also align references from the Indian Penal Code to the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
The government said the amendments aim to strengthen digital safety and prevent misuse of emerging technologies while ensuring accountability of intermediaries. (KDC)
