The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted interim relief to actor Preity Zinta in her suit seeking protection against AI-generated deepfakes, morphed images, fake videos and other unauthorised online content using her identity. The court observed that misuse of such content affects a person’s fundamental rights and reminded online platforms of their due diligence obligations under the Information Technology Rules. Justice Madhav Jamdar expressed concern over the role of intermediaries in tackling such content. Addressing Meta’s counsel, the judge said, “You must be more concerned that your platform is being misused. If you start taking action, such type of offenders will stop. That will enhance your prestige only. Otherwise, you are part of affecting fundamental rights of the citizens of this country.” Meta’s counsel responded that they have been taking ” proactive steps” wherever possible.
Senior advocate Venkatesh Dhond, appearing for Zinta, pointed to around 275 YouTube links listed in the suit, saying they contained AI-generated, morphed or superimposed images and videos using the actor’s likeness. He submitted that such material violated her personality, publicity and moral rights. The court recorded in its order that Zinta, who has been associated with the film industry for over 25 years and acted in more than 40 films, had built a valuable public identity through her career. It observed that the unauthorised use of her image, likeness and mannerisms in AI-generated content could damage her reputation and violate her rights.
“The plaintiff’s personality rights, publicity rights and moral rights are violated by creation of such morphed and superimposed content,” the court said. It added that these rights flow from the constitutional guarantee of free speech under Article 19 and the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21, which includes the right to live with dignity. The court held that a prima facie case had been made out and granted interim relief in terms of the amended prayers. It also allowed Zinta to amend her plaint. Counsel for Meta submitted that the platform would remove the links identified in the suit but sought liberty to raise objections if future complaints involved genuine photographs or lawful content. The court granted such liberty to Meta and extended the same protection to Google LLC. It clarified that if objections are raised, Zinta would be free to approach the court for appropriate directions.
