New Delhi: The Delhi Police have tracked down four suspects involved in uploading a deepfake video of actor Rashmika Mandanna online.
However, the four suspects were uploaders and not video creators, the police said adding that they were now looking for the key conspirator in the case.
The police were able to trace three out of the four suspects based on the details provided by Meta, which owns and operates social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
The investigation faced a hurdle as the accused reportedly removed and deleted information from their accounts, making it difficult for authorities to locate them. The Delhi Police's cyber experts are currently searching for the main conspirator.
The deepfake videos of the actor were likely uploaded using a fake identity, and the use of a Virtual Private Network (VPN) adds another layer of difficulty in tracking the perpetrator, reports NDTV.
It's been a month since the Delhi Police registered an FIR with the Special Cell in connection with the deepfake AI-generated video of Mandanna. Earlier, the Delhi Commission for Women had also sought action over the deepfake video of the actor, which was widely circulated on social media platforms.
Union Minister for Communications, Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw said on November 18 that notices were issued to all social media platforms directing them to take necessary steps to identify and remove such content.
Delhi Police IFSO (Internet Freedom and Safety for Online Users) unit earlier sent a letter to Meta. However, the social media company responded by expressing its inability to provide details of the deleted account.
The sources informed that the police are awaiting a reply from GoDaddy (a publicly traded internet domain registry) since a similar profile was also made through GoDaddy.
"Deepfake is a big issue for all of us. We recently issued notices to all the big social media forms, asking them to take steps to identify deepfakes, to remove those content. The social media platforms have responded. They are taking action. We have told them to be more aggressive in this work," Vaishnaw told the media on November 18.
The modified video of the actor appeared online on November 6, sparking discussions about digital safety. In the viral video, a woman resembling the actress was entering a lift wearing a black swimsuit.