REGULATING DEEPFAKE TECHNOLOGY UNDER INDIAN CYBER LAWS

One of the most significant and unregulated risks facing digital society in the twenty-first century is the rise of deepfake technology, which creates artificially synthesised audio-visual content using deep learning algorithms. The rise of deepfakes in India has led to sophisticated financial frauds, AI-generated electoral disinformation, widespread non-consensual intimate imagery targeting women, and serious concerns to national security. India's current legal framework, which is mainly based on the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, does not have any special legislation that addresses synthetic media manipulation in spite of this obvious harm. This study uses comparable international models, such as those of the US and the EU, to critically assess the effectiveness of Indian cyber legislation in regulating deepfakes. It also reveals basic normative and institutional gaps. The European Union, the United Kingdom, and China, and suggests a logical, rights-preserving legal and policy framework for India. The study comes to the conclusion that the necessity of passing specific deepfake regulations is a constitutional requirement based on the fundamental rights to equality, dignity, and free speech rather than just a question of technology governance. Keywords: AI regulation, digital rights, platform liability, non-consensual intimate imagery, synthetic media, deepfakes, Indian cyber law, information technology act, and disinformation.