LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF DEEPFAKE TECHNOLOGIES IN PAKISTAN'S COURTS

Abstract

The development of deep fake technologies has become one of the major legal dilemmas facing the Pakistani courts, especially on matters of authentication of evidence, privacy, and criminal responsibility. Deep fakes, in which audio, video, or image materials are altered to produce incredibly realistic and yet deceptive images, can also be used to defame, commit fraud, manipulate politics, and even create evidence in a court of law. The virtual evidence technology renders it difficult to establish whether the digital evidence is authentic or not in the eyes of the courts and raises the question of due process and fairness of trial. The current Pakistani laws, including the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, provide minimal details on the way to deal with the crime related to deep fakes, which highlights the shortcomings of the law and control instruments. To overcome these issues, new laws, technological skills in courts, and digital evidence verification guidelines will be needed. This paper explores the legal aspects of deep fakes, discusses the sufficiency of the current laws, and presents the options of how technological protections can be incorporated into the judicial system in Pakistan to provide justice and accountability.