Mondaq has recognised Anuradha Gandhi, Managing Associate at S.S. Rana & Co., in its Thought Leadership Awards, Spring 2024. Her article on Mondaq, co-authored with Isha Sharma, placed second (#2) for India in Technology. In the same edition, Anuradha also placed second in Environmental Law with Vikrant Rana, making her the only S.S. Rana & Co. author recognised in two topics.
About the Mondaq Thought Leadership Awards
Mondaq is an online publisher of legal, regulatory and financial commentary written by law firms and advisers around the world, and its awards site is co-branded with The Legal 500. Its Thought Leadership Awards recognise the authors whose articles readers turn to most.
Who qualifies: The awards draw on articles published on Mondaq by contributing firms and their authors, with separate results for each country and for a range of topics, including Technology.
How winners are chosen: Mondaq decides the awards on total readership during the award period.
The format: For each country and topic, Mondaq names the top three placings. Each co-author of a placed article is recognised individually.
What the award recognises
Reach in technology law: A second place in Technology means the article was among the most-read technology pieces by Indian authors on Mondaq during the award period.
Two topics in one edition: Anuradha’s placings in both Technology and Environmental Law reflect writing that spans emerging technology, data and regulatory compliance.
A body of work on deepfakes and data: Anuradha and Isha write regularly on technology regulation, including deepfakes and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s December 2023 advisory to intermediaries on tackling them.
Deepfakes and the law in India
Deepfakes, AI-generated images, audio or video that convincingly imitate a real person, have become one of the most pressing technology issues in India. There is no deepfake-specific law yet, but several existing rules apply.
The IT Act: The Information Technology Act, 2000 penalises cheating by personation using a computer resource (Section 66D), violations of privacy through capturing or publishing private images (Section 66E), and publishing obscene or sexually explicit material electronically (Sections 67 and 67A).
Duties of platforms: The IT Rules, 2021 require intermediaries to make reasonable efforts to stop users hosting content that impersonates another person or is patently false, and to act on complaints within set timelines. On 26 December 2023, MeitY advised intermediaries to comply strictly with these rules and to clearly tell users what content is prohibited.
Personality rights: Indian courts recognise personality rights, and the Delhi High Court has granted injunctions against the unauthorised use of public figures’ names, images and voices, including through AI tools.
Copyright and data: Deepfakes can also infringe copyright in the source material, and once in force the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 will govern how personal data, including images and voices, is processed.
About the authors
Anuradha Gandhi, Managing Associate: Anuradha writes and advises on technology law, data protection, employment and workplace compliance, and regulatory developments affecting businesses in India.
Isha Sharma: Isha Sharma, Associate at S.S. Rana & Co. co-authored the article and writes regularly with Anuradha on technology and workplace issues.
Recognition in Spring 2024
| Award | Recognition | Recipient |
| Mondaq Thought Leadership Awards, India | #2, Technology | Anuradha Gandhi, Isha Sharma |
| Mondaq Thought Leadership Awards, India | #2, Environmental Law | Vikrant Rana, Anuradha Gandhi |
| Mondaq Thought Leadership Awards, India | #1, Antitrust/Competition Law | Rupin Chopra, Apalka Bareja |
| Mondaq Thought Leadership Awards, India | #2, Food, Drugs, Healthcare, Life Sciences | Renu Bala Rampal, Johny Solomon Raj |
| Mondaq Thought Leadership Awards, India | Top Firms | S.S. Rana & Co. |
See the Technology results and our pages on the firm’s Spring 2024 Top Firms recognition, Anuradha’s Environmental Law award with Vikrant Rana, Rupin Chopra’s award and Renu Bala Rampal and Johny Solomon Raj’s award. Each recognition is recorded on our Awards page.
We congratulate Anuradha and Isha on this recognition, and thank everyone in India and abroad who read and shared their work.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Yes. Anuradha Gandhi of S.S. Rana & Co., with co-author Isha Sharma, placed second (#2) for India in Technology in the Mondaq Thought Leadership Awards, Spring 2024. She also placed second in Environmental Law with Vikrant Rana in the same edition.
Mondaq decides the awards on total readership of articles published on its platform during the award period, with results for each country and for a range of topics, including Technology.
India has no deepfake-specific law, but existing laws apply. The Information Technology Act, 2000 penalises cheating by personation using a computer resource and violations of privacy, and the IT Rules, 2021 require intermediaries to make reasonable efforts to stop users posting content that impersonates another person or is patently false.
On 26 December 2023, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology advised intermediaries to comply strictly with the IT Rules, 2021, including by clearly informing users of prohibited content such as misinformation and impersonation, in response to concerns about deepfakes.
Yes. Indian courts recognise personality rights, and the Delhi High Court has granted injunctions against the unauthorised use of public figures’ names, images and voices, including through AI tools.
Yes. S.S. Rana & Co. is listed among the Top Firms for India, with four placed articles in Spring 2024.
Write to info@ssrana.com with a short description of your matter, and the firm will connect you with her.
The article is available on Mondaq at https://www.mondaq.com/article/1378424.
For more information on Technology Law, Data Protection, Digital Personal Data Protection Act Compliance, Privacy Policies, Information Technology Act Compliance, Intermediary Guidelines, Deepfakes and AI Regulation, Personality Rights, Cyber Security Compliance, E-commerce Compliance, Software Licensing, SaaS Agreements, Online Content Takedowns and Regulatory Compliance in India write to us at info@ssrana.com