The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has proposed that all content generated with the help of artificial intelligence carry a continuous and clearly visible label alerting users that the material has been synthetically created. The draft amendment to the Information Technology Rules (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code), 2021 requires that the labelling must remain on display for the entire duration of the content, whether it is a photo, audio clip, text, or video.
Under the proposed change, all social media platforms and internet intermediaries will be required to ensure that AI‑generated or synthetically created content is not only prominently labelled but also remains labelled throughout the viewing experience. The goal is to make synthetic content visually distinguishable from conventional human‑created material, regardless of format or platform.
Tighter Rules for Intermediaries and Creators
The amendment explicitly targets intermediaries such as social media companies, messaging platforms, and content‑hosting services, mandating that they implement technical and workflow mechanisms to detect and label AI‑generated content at scale. The ministry envisages that the label must be integrated into the user interface so that it is visible in real time, rather than appearing only in metadata or captions.
The proposal expands the scope of earlier rules that already required some form of content labelling and disclosure, but now adds a time‑based continuity requirement—the label should persist as long as the content is being consumed. For platforms, this means re‑engineering content‑delivery and UI layers to support persistent overlays, watermarks, or metadata flags without degrading the viewing experience.
Stakeholder Consultation Extension and Broader Regulatory Context
Alongside the AI‑labelling amendment, MeitY has extended the stakeholder‑consultation timeline for an earlier draft that seeks to bring independent news and current‑affairs content creators under the ambit of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB). The consultation window was initially set to close on April 14, then extended to April 29, and has now been pushed further to May 7, giving industry players, civil society groups, and content platforms more time to submit feedback.
The earlier proposed amendments had indicated that news and current‑affairs content on platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter) would fall under MIB’s purview, enabling the ministry to issue blocking orders or demand content modifications if material is found to violate guidelines applicable to news publishers. The AI‑labelling clause is being introduced in parallel to this broader re‑alignment of India’s digital‑media and intermediary‑governance framework.
