The Bombay High Court has granted interim relief to actress Preity Zinta in her legal battle against AI-generated deepfakes, morphed images, fake videos and other unauthorized online content created using her identity.
Bombay High Court grants interim relief to Preity Zinta against AI deepfakes, morphed content
The order came after Zinta approached the court seeking protection against misuse of her likeness on digital platforms. During the hearing, the court also highlighted the responsibility of online intermediaries to curb such content and comply with their obligations under information technology rules.
Court raised questions on the role of online platforms
Justice Madhav Jamdar expressed concern over the increasing misuse of AI-generated content and questioned the responsibility of social media platforms in addressing such violations.
Addressing Meta’s lawyer during the hearing, the judge said, “You should be more concerned that your platform is being misused. If you start taking action, these types of criminals will stop. This will only enhance your reputation. Otherwise, you are part of affecting the fundamental rights of the citizens of this country.”
Responding to the court, Meta’s lawyer said the company is taking “proactive steps” wherever possible to remove such content.
Preity Zinta has accused of misuse of her identity
Senior advocate Venkatesh Dhond, appearing for Zinta, informed the court that around 275 YouTube links have been identified in the lawsuit which allegedly contain AI-generated, morphed or superimposed videos and images using the actor’s likeness.
According to the submissions, the content violates Zinta’s personality rights, publicity rights and moral rights by using her identity without consent.
The court said Zinta has spent more than 25 years in the film industry and acted in more than 40 films, and has created a significant public identity through her work. It found that unauthorized AI-generated content using their image, likeness and mannerisms had the potential to damage their reputation.
The court said, “Creation of such distorted and impugned material violates the plaintiff’s personality rights, publicity rights and moral rights.”
The court further held that these rights are protected under Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution, noting that the right to life and personal liberty includes the right to live with dignity.
Court granted interim protection
After considering the arguments, the Bombay High Court held that Zinta has established a prima facie case and granted interim relief in line with the amended prayers made in the suit. It also allowed him to amend his complaint.
During the hearing, the lawyer representing Meta informed the court that the company would remove the links identified in the lawsuit. However, it requested freedom to raise objections if future complaints involve genuine photographs or otherwise legitimate content.
The court granted the request and granted similar freedom to Google LLC. It made it clear that if any forum raises objections with respect to future complaints, Zinta will be free to approach the court for further directions.
