Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court has issued notices to Meta India, Google, X, Reddit and Scribd on a PIL seeking a robust framework to curb misuse of AI in creating and circulating deepfakes.

A division bench led by Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice D N Ray, while making the notices returnable on May 8, also directed these intermediaries to integrate with the Sahyog portal to enable better coordination and timely removal of unlawful content, in line with the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

Affidavits by the Centre and Gujarat government flagged delays, procedural hurdles and non-compliance by some platforms. The Centre said the Sahyog portal, launched in October 2024, enables swift action against unlawful and AI-generated content by linking law enforcement agencies and intermediaries.

The Ministry of Home Affairs told the court that while Meta and Google have improved compliance, X remains largely unresponsive. Of 94 notices issued to X between 2024 and 2026, only 13 received formal replies. Despite partial takedowns, the ministry said poor response rates hinder enforcement and violate enhanced due diligence norms under the amended IT Rules, 2026.

The PIL by Vikas Nair warns that AI-generated content threatens public order and democracy, and argues existing laws, including the IT Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, are inadequate. It seeks directions for a comprehensive regulatory mechanism.

Earlier, on February 24, the HC had sought responses from the state and the Centre, including the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. The state, in its affidavit, cited continued inaction by some intermediaries despite legal notices, and called for stricter timelines, real-time coordination and stronger enforcement mechanisms. DeshGujarat