Bombay High Court Orders Removal of Preity Zinta Deepfakes, Directs Platforms to Curb Misuse
The Bombay High Court has granted interim relief to Bollywood actor Preity Zinta by ordering Meta, Google LLC, and other online platforms to remove specified deepfake videos and manipulated digital content that violated her personal rights. The court also stressed that intermediaries and social media platforms must take steps to curb such misuse.
The order was passed on an interim application filed by Zinta in her lawsuit against various platforms and entities seeking removal of objectionable content that breached her copyrights and eroded her goodwill. The court noted that the creation and dissemination of these deepfake videos infringed upon her personality rights, publicity rights, and moral rights.
Justice Madhav J Jamdar observed: “Perusal of various contentions raised in the plaint as also the exhibits submitted with the plaint clearly shows that the plaintiff’s personality rights, publicity rights and moral rights are violated by the creation of such morphed deepfake and/or superimposed content comprising the plaintiff’s image, photograph or videos. The said rights flow from the right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19 (1) (A) of the Constitution and the right to life with dignity and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.”
The court’s directive underscores the growing concern over deepfake technology and its potential to harm individuals’ reputations and privacy. It also highlights the legal framework in India that protects personality rights, derived from constitutional guarantees. The order requires the platforms to promptly take down the identified content and prevent further uploads of similar material.
This case adds to a series of legal actions in India where celebrities have sought protection against AI-generated fake content. The Bombay High Court’s decision reinforces the responsibility of intermediaries to act against such violations under the Information Technology Act and related laws.
