The Bombay High Court has issued an interim order in favor of actress Shruti Haasan, addressing her plea to curb the publication of artificial intelligence (AI) generated content that violates her personality rights by misappropriating her image or likeness. Haasan approached the court seeking protection for her personality and publicity rights, arguing that they were being infringed upon through AI-generated deepfakes, manipulated videos, unauthorized commercial endorsements, and unlicensed merchandise.
Justice Madhav Jamdar, in his interim order, acknowledged the significant harm caused by digital manipulation of personal images and the swift proliferation of deepfakes online. “There is substance in the contention raised by the plaintiff (Haasan) that the ongoing distribution of AI-generated deepfakes, altered images, chatbots, and other infringing content has inflicted and continues to inflict irreparable damage to the plaintiff’s goodwill, reputation, and commercial interests,” the court noted. “Such damage cannot be adequately remedied by monetary compensation alone, as once deepfake content is disseminated online, it can be replicated and circulated endlessly, leading to the permanent erosion of the plaintiff’s personality rights and public image,” the court observed.
Justice Jamdar emphasized the constitutional basis for personality and privacy rights, underscoring that unauthorized digital manipulations infringe upon fundamental freedoms guaranteed under the Constitution of India. “The evidence clearly indicates that (Haasan’s) personality rights, publicity rights, and moral rights are breached by the creation of morphed, deepfake, and/or superimposed content featuring the altered images, photographs, and videos of the plaintiff. (Haasan’s) personality rights and publicity rights are safeguarded by Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India, which pertains to the right of freedom of speech and expression. The right to life and personal liberty, including the right to privacy, are protected under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, which encompasses the right to live with dignity. Therefore, a strong prima facie case is established,” the Bench concluded.
The court proceeded to direct the removal of content identified by Haasan in her petition. Haasan initiated legal action last month against several entities involved in creating, hosting, and distributing unauthorized content using her persona. During prior hearings, the High Court had provided a final opportunity for several non-responsive defendants to appear or file a reply. As multiple respondents failed to appear or submit a defense, despite having ample time, the court proceeded to issue an ad-interim injunction against them. Meanwhile, legal representatives for some of the defendants who attended the hearings assured the court that infringing content on their platforms would be taken down promptly upon receiving valid URLs from Haasan’s legal team.
