This article tells about the various Parliamentary Committees or Parliamentary Standing Committees for various topics and their recommendations.

Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and IT

• Chaired by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey.
• Key Recommendations –
  • Government to explore the feasibility of licensing requirements for AI content creators and making labelling of AI-generated videos and content mandatory, as part of efforts to combat the spread of fake news.
  • Asked the government to devise legal and technological measures to identify and prosecute individuals and organisations disseminating such content.
  • It also called for “close coordination between the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and other Ministries and departments”.
  • Amending penal provisions, increasing fines, and fixing accountability.
  • Favours the mandatory presence of fact-checking mechanisms and internal ombudsmen in all print, digital, and electronic media organisations.
• Two ongoing projects in this regard include
  • Fake speech detection using a deep learning framework, and
  • The design and development of software to identify deepfake videos and images.
• Observations
  • Advances in technology, particularly in AI, could provide tools to address concerns over fake news.
  • AI, in its current form, cannot be used for fact-checking as it relies on pre-existing information available online. Instead, AI could help flag potentially fake or misleading content for human review, the committee said.
  • AI and machine learning (ML) technologies are increasingly being employed to enhance the ability to detect, verify, and prevent the spread of misinformation and disinformation.
  • Calling fake news a “serious threat” to public order and the democratic process.