The 2026 rules on synthetically generated information
The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2026, notified on 10 February and in force from 20 February 2026, define synthetically generated information as audio, visual or audiovisual content created or altered by computer so that it appears real and shows a person or event in a way likely to pass as genuine. Routine editing, accessibility and translation uses are excluded. Such content must carry a prominent label, audio must open with a spoken disclosure, and a permanent identifier or metadata must be embedded where technically feasible. Platforms may not let anyone strip them. Significant social media intermediaries must ask users to declare synthetic content and check declarations with technical tools, and takedown deadlines are now measured in hours. The size rule proposed in the 2025 draft was dropped.
ASCI, the CCPA and personality rights
ASCI's guidelines for influencer advertising, in force since June 2021, require paid content to be labelled and add a rule written for synthetic creators: a virtual influencer must disclose, upfront and prominently, that people are not dealing with a real human being. The Central Consumer Protection Authority's 2022 guidelines on misleading advertisements are statutory, and they ban surrogate advertising, the practice of promoting a prohibited product such as liquor through a brand extension. The Drugs and Magic Remedies Act still bans ads that promise cures for listed conditions. Indian courts, notably in Delhi and Mumbai, have repeatedly granted celebrities injunctions against AI clones of their faces, voices and mannerisms, so a synthetic star without a contract is a quick route to court.
The DPDP Act, consent and children
The Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 is now being phased in by the DPDP Rules notified in November 2025, with most obligations applying from May 2027. Section 9 will then forbid tracking, behavioural monitoring and targeted advertising directed at children, which the Act defines as anyone under 18, and processing a child's data will need verifiable parental consent. Consent notices must be available in English or any of the 22 languages in the Constitution's Eighth Schedule, a detail that matters for UGC and likeness campaigns. Use the time before May 2027 to fix consent flows for anyone whose face or voice appears in generated content, and to remove age-based targeting that will not survive the rules.
Languages, scripts and the festival calendar
Hindi and English reach much of the north and urban India, but Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra respond to their own languages, and Hinglish runs through social media. Scripts such as Devanagari, Tamil and Bengali join letters into conjuncts that generated images break, so set text as live type with proper shaping. The calendar is regional: Diwali, Durga Puja, Onam, Pongal, Eid, Navratri and Ganesh Chaturthi peak in different places, and online sales cluster around Diwali. WhatsApp is the default channel, TikTok has been banned since 2020, and Flipkart, Amazon and Meesho lead retail. The studio's per-asset record of which model made what makes platform declarations about synthetic content simple to answer.
Updated 25 September 2026 · General information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the current text with your legal team before relying on it.