Govt to retain AI labelling rule, bring schedule for advisories

THe authorities testament non john donald budge on its proposition requiring continuous labelling of AI-generated content on social media platforms, and is also working on a schedule to specify which advisories issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) would be mandatory for intermediaries to comply with, a senior government official said.“We won’t compromise on the AI labelling rule. The compliance is very weak from the companies,” said the official, requesting anonymity.The proposals are part of amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, released for public consultation earlier this year.Among the four key proposed changes are a mandate for continuous and clear labelling of AI-generated content under Rule 3(3)(a)(ii), compulsory compliance with government advisories, clarifications, orders, directions, standards, etc under Rule 3(4), expansion of the powers of the Inter-Departmental Committee (IDC) under Rule 14(2), and bringing user generated content related to news and current affairs (including community notes on X) under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s (MIB) oversight through Rule 8(1).Also Read: ‘Govt keeps options open for future AI legislation’On Rule 3(4), the official quoted above said the amendment would remain but the government plans to introduce a schedule listing the advisories that would be binding. “We are trying to bring a schedule. Whichever advisories we want complied with, we will mention in the schedule. Some are general in nature whenever any issue comes, but some are really meant to be effective, so those will be mentioned in the schedule,” the official said.However, no final decision has yet been taken on the proposals related to MIB’s role over user-generated content and the expanded powers of the IDC. According to the official, MeitY is expected to hold discussions with MIB this week. Two MIB officials said the ministry is still reviewing more than 6,000 emails received during the public consultation period, which ended on May 7. Most of the feedback received by MeitY relates to the proposed role of MIB and the IDC, officials said.“We are in touch with MIB. They have to take the final call on Part III on publishers and content. No discussion has happened between MeitY and MIB yet,” the official said.The proposals relating to MIB and the IDC have drawn criticism from industry groups which represent major technology and telecom companies, HT reported earlier.Organisations like the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and the Broadband India Forum (BIF) have argued that intermediaries are already regulated under the IT Act and warned that the broad definition of “news and current affairs content” could potentially cover satire, parody, citizen journalism and ordinary discussions of current events. The groups also objected to the proposed expansion of IDC powers, saying it could allow the committee to examine matters referred by MIB even without a formal complaint.The two bodies also raised concerns over the proposed AI labelling requirement. They said permanently visible labels could create technical challenges, affect user experience and accessibility, and may not be the most effective way to identify AI-generated content. BIF suggested the use of metadata-based provenance systems, while IAMAI sought withdrawal of the proposal.The MeitY official said the final rules could be finalised internally within one or two weeks, although the timeline for the final notification of the rules is not set.