Abstract
This paper examines the emerging regulatory challenge posed by political deepfakes, with a particular focus on India’s 2024 elections and the legal responses that followed. It argues that regulatory responses that directly prohibit or remove political speech risk collapsing questions of authenticity into questions of legality. Using India as the central case study, and drawing comparative lessons from recent developments in the United States, the paper argues for a regulatory approach focused less on banning synthetic political content and more on provenance, disclosures, and institutional preparedness. Deepfake regulation, if poorly designed, risks strengthening state control over political discourse. The paper therefore calls for a more speech-protective framework that treats authenticity as an infrastructural and evidentiary problem, rather than a content illegality problem.
Recommended Citation
Gaur, Akriti
(2025)
"The Authenticity Trap: Political Deepfakes and the Limits of Current Regulation,"
National Law School of India Review: Vol. 36:
Iss.
2, Article 9.
DOI: 10.55496/HWAR6455
Available at:
https://repository.nls.ac.in/nlsir/vol36/iss2/9
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.55496/HWAR6455
