Par panel urges govt to develop legal, tech solutions to act against those behind AI-based fake news
New Delhi, Sep 14 (PTI): A parliamentary committee has asked the government to develop concrete legal and technological solutions for identifying and prosecuting individuals and entities responsible for spreading Artificial Intelligence-generated fake news.
The Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, in its draft report, called for a balanced approach for deploying AI to curb fake news, noting that the technology is being used to detect misinformation but can be a source of misinformation as well.
The draft report of the committee, headed by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, was recently submitted to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. It will be tabled in Parliament during the next session.
The Committee also urged for "close coordination between the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and other ministries and departments concerned to develop concrete legal and technological solutions for identifying and prosecuting individuals and entities responsible for disseminating AI-generated fake news", according to sources.
The Committee has recommended inter-ministerial coordination for exploring the feasibility of licensing requirements for AI content creators and mandatory labelling of AI-generated videos and content.
The committee's suggestions are not binding on the government. However, the government often looks to implement them as parliamentary committees are representative of Parliament, and their recommendations often carry the weight of bipartisan spirit.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the Committee noted, has constituted a nine-member panel to examine problems related to the "issue of deepfakes".
Two projects to detect fake news currently underway are: fake speech detection using a deep learning framework and design and development of software for detecting deepfake videos and images, it said.
While stating that advances in technology, particularly in AI, offer promising solutions to address concerns over fake news, the Committee highlighted the related ministries' stand that AI is evolving and works on the use of pre-existing information available on the internet.
In its present state, it cannot be used for a subject as complicated as fact-checking, the ministries told the Committee.
But AI could be used to flag potentially fake news and misleading content for review by human intervention as a second layer of monitoring, the Committee added.
The Committee said various research projects and initiatives are exploring AI's use in combating fake news.
"AI and machine learning (ML) technologies are increasingly being employed to enhance the ability to detect, verify, and prevent the spread of misinformation and disinformation," it said.
The Committee, which made wide-ranging recommendations following months of interactions with different stakeholders, called fake news a "serious threat" to public order and democratic process, and called for amending penal provisions, increasing fines and fixing accountability to deal with the issue.
It also favoured mandatory presence of a fact-checking mechanism and an internal ombudsman in all print, digital and electronic media organisations.
The Committee, however, has added that this should involve and emerge from a consensus-building exercise among media bodies and relevant stakeholders.
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Trump says he called off dispatching envoys to Iran talks
Dubai (PTI): US President Donald Trump said he told his top envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner not to travel to Pakistan to negotiate with Iran, stating on Fox News that "they can call us any time they want”.
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country won't negotiate while the United States imposes a blockade on its ports. Pezeshkian told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during a phone call Saturday night that the US “should first remove operational obstacles, including the blockade,” to allow a new round of negotiations, according to the ISNA and Tasnim news agencies in Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left Pakistan on Saturday evening, two Pakistani officials told The Associated Press. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said Araghchi is expected back in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Sunday.
Trump said Thursday that Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks after talks at the White House. The meeting was the second high-level negotiation between the two countries this month. The initial 10-day ceasefire had been due to expire Monday.
The Trump administration is placing economic sanctions on a major China-based oil refinery and roughly 40 shipping companies and tankers involved in transporting Iranian oil.
The move announced Friday is part of the administration's threat to impose secondary sanctions on entities doing business with Iran in an effort to cut off Iran's oil exports, which are a key source of its revenue.
Airlines worldwide have begun cancelling flights as the war in the Middle East strains jet fuel supplies and pushes up prices. Experts have offered information to travelers about what to do if a flight is cancelled.
Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country won't negotiate while the United States imposes a blockade on its ports, according to Iranian media.
Pezeshkian told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during a phone call Saturday night that the US “should first remove operational obstacles, including the blockade”, to allow a new round of negotiations, the ISNA and Tasnim news agencies reported.
The Pakistani premier described the call as a “warm and constructive discussion”.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi concluded a one-day trip to Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Saturday after meeting with Pakistani military and government officials.
The trip did not produce a breakthrough in efforts to relaunch negotiations after US President Donald Trump canceled a planned trip by his envoys to Islamabad.
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will return to Pakistan after his current visit to Oman on his way to visiting Russia.
The report said he was expected to be back in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Sunday and would join other members of his delegation who had gone to Tehran for consultations and “instructions on the topics related to the end of the war.”
