DEEPFAKE PORN AND BNS: IS INDIA READY TO CRIMINALISE AI-GENERATED SEXUAL CONTENT?

The phenomenon of AI-generated sexual content has presented a novel challenge to the Indian criminal jurisprudence. While the progressive Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 [BNS] aims to update the Indian penal code, it does not explicitly criminalize deepfake pornography. The present paper examines if the provisions of the BNS and/or Information Technology Act, 2000 are sufficient to criminalize AI-assisted sexual content. Further, it proposes an amendment to the BNS for the explicit criminalization of deepfake pornography.