India Mandates AI Watermarking for All Synthetic Media Under IT A...

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued an amendment to the Information Technology Rules requiring all AI-generated images, audio, and video content published on Indian digital platforms to carry an embedded and visible watermark indicating synthetic origin by September 2026. The amendment applies to platforms with more than 5 million Indian users, covering social media, news websites, streaming services, and messaging platforms that permit content broadcasting. Platforms must also retain metadata logs linking synthetic content to the AI system that generated it for a minimum of 180 days, accessible to law enforcement upon court order. MEITY said the measure is designed to combat AI-generated deepfakes used in electoral misinformation, financial fraud, and non-consensual intimate imagery. Violations will attract penalties under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act and can result in platform blocking.