In a landmark interim order, the Bombay High Court has directed major tech platforms to take down hundreds of URLs featuring deepfakes, chatbot personas, and merchandise misusing Bollywood actress Preity Zinta’s name, image, and voice, recognizing this as a violation of her personality and publicity rights under Indian law.
- Court orders removal of approx. 275 infringing URLs within 72 hours
- Deepfakes, AI voices, chatbots, and merchandise violate constitutional rights
- Domain registrars must disclose owners of offending websites swiftly
What happened
Preity Zinta obtained an ad interim injunction from the Bombay High Court against Google, X, Meta, and various AI platforms after discovering multiple unauthorized uses of her persona. These included AI-generated deepfake videos, chatbots, voice simulations, morphed images, and merchandise sold without her permission.
Justice Madhav J. Jamdar ordered the immediate removal or blocking of approximately 275 URLs identified as infringing within three days. This action followed earlier judicial permission allowing Zinta to sue intermediaries and other parties involved, granted by Justice Abhay Ahuja.
Why it matters
The court recognized that the unauthorized AI content infringes upon Zinta’s personality rights, publicity rights, and moral rights under the Copyright Act of 1957. Notably, the judgment affirmed that personality rights derive from constitutional guarantees such as freedom of speech (Article 19(1)(a)) and the right to life and dignity (Article 21).
This ruling clarifies the legal framework for addressing emerging challenges posed by AI-generated content that exploits personal likeness and voice, reinforcing protections for individuals in India against digital impersonation and unauthorized commercial use.
What to watch next
Domain registrars named in the case have been required to disclose the identities behind offending websites within seven days upon formal request, which could lead to further legal action against the operators of infringing domains. This may pave the way for broader accountability in hosting and domain registration services related to privacy violations.
Stakeholders in India’s entertainment and technology sectors will closely monitor how courts continue to handle rights issues framed by AI misuse. This decision could trigger more legal safeguards against AI-driven identity exploitation and influence policy-making on tech platform responsibilities.