In its 254th report on Cyber Crime, Ramifications, Protection and Prevention, tabled in Parliament this month, the committee said that while the Information Technology Act, 2000 has enabled significant progress, enforcement loopholes and regulatory blind spots continue to threaten public trust in India’s digital ecosystem.
The panel noted that current law does not distinguish between user-generated and AI-generated content. With deepfakes increasingly used for financial fraud, misinformation, and obscene material, it recommended dedicated legal provisions to regulate synthetic media.
It also proposed mandatory watermarks on all digital content, including photographs and videos, to help establish authenticity. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has been asked to set uniform technical standards, while CERT-In would monitor compliance and issue detection alerts.
The committee further called for a more transparent and user-friendly grievance redressal system. It suggested standardised complaint formats, fixed timelines for acknowledgement and resolution, and public disclosure of complaint statistics. Integrating these mechanisms with emerging data protection frameworks, it said, would help create a more cohesive system covering privacy, content moderation, and cybersecurity.
The report flagged the repeated failure of some social media intermediaries to remove unlawful content such as morphed videos, fake profiles, and hate material. To address this, it proposed amendments to the IT Act to hold platforms legally accountable if they fail to comply with takedown orders within prescribed timelines. Penalties could range from fines to suspension of operations for persistent non-compliance, subject to due process safeguards.With OTT platforms now surpassing cinema in reach, especially among younger audiences, the committee expressed concern that harmful content is bypassing the current self-classification regime. Unlike films, OTT content does not undergo pre-certification under the Cinematograph Act.The panel recommended setting up a Post-Release Review Panel comprising child development experts, educators, legal specialists, and social scientists to monitor flagged content. It also urged stricter age verification, stronger parental controls, and regional-language classification notices to better protect semi-urban and rural viewers.
Recognising the challenges posed by blockchain, the metaverse, and generative AI, the committee called for forward-looking and flexible regulatory guidelines. It said safe harbour protections for intermediaries should be reviewed periodically to strike a balance between immunity and accountability. It further recommended regular updates to enforcement mechanisms and penalty provisions under the IT Act to ensure they remain effective deterrents.
The panel also proposed stricter data protection and security standards for apps and app stores, including regular audits to prevent the distribution of malicious applications. It suggested developing an indigenous app store to support Indian startups and reduce reliance on foreign-controlled digital marketplaces.
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