Abstract
The sudden explosion in the development of artificial intelligence has led to the development of deepfakes as well as voice cloning technology that can reproduce the face, voice and behavioural qualities of an individual with a high degree of realism. While use of these technologies has legitimate applications, the misuse of these technologies has led to identity theft, reputational damage, non-consensual explicit content and sophisticated financial fraud. In India, the lack of a separate statutory framework for regulation of synthetic media has led to serious regulatory gaps as dependence is on scattered provisions of the Information Technology Act, the Indian Penal Code and the evolving data protection norms. 1 This paper adopts a doctrinal research methodology on the basis of statutes, judicial precedents, policy reports and academic literature to analyze the legal implications of deepfake personalities and voice cloning. It assesses how far there is any adequacy within the current Indian legislation in tackling the issues related to violation of right of privacy, personality rights, defamation and impersonation, failures in existence of enforcement structural loopholes and accountability in platforms.2 The study finds that existing legal remedies are reactive and technologically deficient, especially in relation to consent, harm in real time and cross-platform dissemination of harm. In popular culture Voice cloning creates even more risks as it facilitates targeted impersonation and financial trickery that prey on trust relationships.3 In this context the public health legal advocacy piece calls for a specialised legal framework which recognises facial likeness and voice as protected attributes, including a requirement to disclose AI-generated content and incorporate criminal offence against malicious synthetic media. Such regulation is necessary to protect the constitutional right to privacy, dignity and reputation in a balance with innovation and free expression.