Mumbai police registers FIR against gaming site, FB page after Sachin Tendulkar's viral deepfake video

Sachin Tendulkar. File pic

The Mumbai police have registered a case against a gaming site and a Facebook page after legendry Sachin Tendulkar's deepfake video went viral earlier this week. Tendulkar had raised concerns over a deepfake video that falsely showed him promoting a gaming app. In the edited fake video of Tendulkar, was seen promoting an online game, giving the example of daughter Sara earning Rs 1.8 lakh per day by making predictions.

An FIR has been registered under section 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 66 (A) (sending offensive messages through communication service) of the IT Act on a complaint filed by the former cricketer's personal assistant at the West Region Cyber police station on Tuesday, news wire PTI reported.

According to the complaint, the video was edited and posted on Facebook and deepfake technology was used to mimic Tendulkar's gesture and voice. At this stage, the police did not share details about the owner of the gaming site and the Facebook page, the PTI report added.

Tendulkar took social media and clarified that he had nothing to do with the said video and that it was manipulated. He also said that it is disturbing to see "rampant misuse of technology" and appealed to stop the "spread of misinformation and deepfakes".

Reacting to Tendulkar's post, Union Minister of State for IT and Electronics, Rajeev Chandrasekhar took to X and thanked Tendulkar for flagging the video, adding that deepfakes and misinformation powered by Artificial Intelligence are a threat to the safety and trust of Indian users.

Chandrasekhar said that the government had earlier made it clear to social media and online platforms that if its advisory on deepfake is not fully adhered to, new Information Technology (IT) rules would follow.

On Tuesday, Chandrasekhar said that compliance with the advisory on deepfakes has been "mixed" from platforms. He reiterated that tighter Information Technology rules on misuse deepfake technology is expected in next seven days.

Tendulkar is the latest victim of the deepfake after Bollywood actor Rashmika Mandhana's fake video had gone viral recently.

The IT Rules, 2021, currently outlines various consumer safety measures that digital platforms operating in India are expected to follow. The Indian government will soon introduce amendments to its platform governance laws to regulate generative artificial intelligence (AI) and artificial intelligence companies.

(With PTI inputs)