The Bombay High Court has granted Hindi actress Preity Zinta an ad interim injunction against Google, X, Meta, and various AI platforms for misusing her name, image, and voice through deepfakes, chatbot personas, and merchandise. Justice Madhav J. Jamdar ordered these companies to remove or block access to approximately 275 infringing URLs within 72 hours, following Zinta's petition in June to sue intermediaries and other parties, according to medianama.com.
The court found a strong prima facie case that the AI-generated content violated Zinta's personality rights, publicity rights, and moral rights under the Copyright Act, 1957. Justice Jamdar emphasized that these rights are protected under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech and expression, and Article 21, which safeguards the right to life and dignity. Zinta's legal team submitted evidence including deepfake videos, morphed photographs, memes, AI voice simulations, and chatbot personas mimicking her likeness, as reported by medianama.com.
This ruling highlights the growing legal challenges posed by AI-generated content that infringes on individual personality rights. It sets a precedent for protecting public figures against unauthorized AI recreations and misuse on major platforms like Google and Meta. The decision aligns with increasing global scrutiny of AI's impact on privacy and intellectual property, marking a significant step in Indian courts addressing AI-related rights violations, per medianama.com.
The court's directive requires the removal or blocking of roughly 275 URLs within three days, underscoring the judiciary's swift response to AI-driven infringements. This order follows the June permission granted by Justice Abhay Ahuja for Zinta to sue intermediaries, reinforcing the actress's legal recourse against unauthorized AI content, according to medianama.com.