Tarar calls for mandatory labels on AI-generated content

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar has called for mandatory labelling of content generated by artificial intelligence, saying readers must be able to tell machine-made material from reported fact.

Speaking at a ceremony in Islamabad, Tarar described misinformation and fake news as among the biggest challenges of the modern era and warned that deepfakes and AI-generated material could be misused, according to a report in Minute Mirror. PhoneWorld also reported that he proposed a national cybersecurity council and backed compulsory labelling of AI content.

Tarar said digital literacy should be built into the national education curriculum so that people can identify misleading information and use online platforms responsibly. Children in particular needed to be taught about the risks of social media and how to protect themselves from unsafe activity online, he said.

The minister proposed setting up a National Cyber Security and Social Media Awareness Council to coordinate efforts against online misinformation and improve public understanding of digital threats. He said cybercrime and the misuse of social media required continuous work, coordinated strategies and greater awareness among internet users.

Tarar said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had established a Digital Communication Department as part of its own outreach effort. He announced that the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) had started functioning and would support the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority in dealing with cyber-related challenges.

Public awareness, digital education and stronger coordination between institutions were needed to handle misinformation, cyber threats and the growing influence of artificial intelligence, he said.

Neither report named the organisers of the Islamabad ceremony or said which body would enforce the labelling requirement and how it would identify AI-generated material. Neither said whether the proposed council would be created by cabinet decision, statute or ministerial notification.

No timeline was given for adding digital literacy to the curriculum or for bringing any labelling rule into force. The reports did not say whether draft legislation or rules had been prepared.