Probe in deepfake case of actor Rashmika Mandanna hits dead end

New Delhi [India], November 24 : The probe into the deepfake case of actor Rashmika Mandana has hit a dead end as social media platforms have shown their inability to give any information about individual(s) who have allegedly made the deep fake profiles.
As per the sources, the accused has removed and deleted his or her account from the social media platforms.
The officials said that the account could have been created with a fake identity and the Virtual Private Network (VPN) could have been used to upload the deep fake videos.
Union Minister for Communications, Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw on November 18 said that notices were issued to all social media platforms directing them to take necessary steps to identify and remove such content.
As per the officials, though the police detained a few suspects, none of them created the deep fake video in question rather they only shared the video.
The investigation into the matter is still underway, the officials said.
Delhi Police has received a response suggesting their inability to provide details about the suspect's account which has been deleted from the Social media platforms.
Delhi Police IFSO (Internet Freedom and Safety for Online Users) unit earlier this week sent a letter to Meta (formerly Facebook) but the social media company responded by expressing its inability to provide details of the deleted account.
The sources further informed that the police are awaiting a reply from GoDaddy (a publicly traded internet domain registry) since a similar profile was made through GoDaddy also.
Highlighting the danger of deepfakes, Ashwini Vaishnaw on November 18 during an interaction with the media, said, "Deep fake 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."
On November 6, a modified video of actor Rashmika Mandanna appeared online sparking discussions of digital safety. In the viral video, it can be seen that a woman resembling the actress Rashmika was entering a lift wearing a black swimsuit.
The video quickly went viral and several social media users came forward to confirm that it was a deep fake. It was later identified that the video was of a British Actress Zara Patel.
The actor strongly reacted to the alleged deep fake video and said, "I feel really hurt to share this and have to talk about the deep fake video of me being spread online. Something like this is honestly, extremely scary not only for me but also for each one of us who today is vulnerable to so much harm because of how technology is being misused."
The Delhi Police registered the FIR under relevant sections, and an investigation has been carried out into the matter.
Delhi Police said that a technical analysis is underway to identify the accused involved in the deepfake video case of the actress Rashmika Mandanna.