X may be held responsible for Grok generated content: Govt source
New Delhi, Mar 20 (PTI): Social media platform X may be held responsible for content generated by its artificial intelligence tool Grok, and a legal view in this regard will be firmed up soon, a government source said.
Recently, users on X have been asking various questions about Indian politicians from Grok and the AI platform was coming up with responses which were unpalatable.
Grok is an AI tool on social media platform X.
"Prima facie, it seems Yes. It is my personal view, but the same has to be legally scrutinised," the government source said when asked if X can be held responsible for Grok-generated content.
The source said the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is in discussion with the social media platform to understand and assess its working.
Last year, the government had taken immediate action and issued guidelines on AI after Google's Gemini made some unpleasant remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in response to queries.
The guidelines to check social media content are in place, and the companies need to adhere to them, the source added.
Talking about X case against the government challenging section 79 (3) of the IT Act, the source said that the courts will have final words on the contention of social media platforms on content blocking.
Elon Musk-owned X has filed a lawsuit in the Karnataka High Court against the Government of India, contending that content regulations are unlawful and arbitrary.
It has also raised concerns over the Centre's interpretation of the Information Technology (IT) Act, particularly its use of Section 79(3)(b), which 'X' argues violates Supreme Court rulings and undermines free expression online.
"Section 79(3)(b) comes into play if an intermediary does not remove objectionable content as per the order authorised government bodies. By doing so, if a social media platform is ready to take liability or ownership of user-generated content, then it can be prosecuted, and the social media platform will always have the option to approach court against the prosecution. Therefore, it is finally courts that will have the final say in the contention," the source noted.
The lawsuit alleged that the government is using the section to create a parallel content-blocking mechanism, bypassing the structured legal process outlined in Section 69A.
X claimed this approach contradicts the Supreme Court's 2015 ruling in the Shreya Singhal case, which established that content can only be blocked through a proper judicial process or the legally defined route under Section 69A.
If a platform fails to comply within 36 hours, it risks losing its safe harbour protection under Section 79(1) and could be held accountable under various laws, including the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Section 79 (1) of the IT Act provides protection to social media platforms from liability for objectionable content posted by their users. The sub-section 2 of section 79 describes the condition for an intermediary, and sub-section 3 of section 79 of the IT Act prescribes the conditions when the protection granted to a social media platform will not apply.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
