According to the court, any person, especially a woman, cannot be represented without her approval and can not have her right of privacy and dignity without permission violated.
The Bombay High Court on Friday passed an order requiring the removal of every link to AI-generated deepfake material about actress Shilpa Shetty that has been posted on the internet, saying it is “disturbing and morally unacceptable.”
The order was issued after actress Shilpa Shetty filed an urgent application with the Bombay High Court requesting a protective order after explicit and pornographic images created using an AI programme started appearing on the internet.
Shilpa Shetty’s lawyer also informed the court that many images had been posted to the internet just two days prior to the application, therefore it was essential for the court to intervene immediately.
Shilpa Shetty had previously applied to the court requesting the enforcement of her personality rights and most recently asked for an urgent hearing regarding the increasing dangers associated with deepfake technology.
In support of Shilpa Shetty, attorney Sana Raees Khan described numerous images being shared on multiple social media platforms depicting the actress in a manner she deemed “inappropriately and unacceptably”.
Following the examination of the submissions, Justice Advait Sethna noted that the images shown to the court seemed alarming and raised significant issues.
Khan contended that distributing this type of content constituted a blatant infringement of Shetty’s basic rights, which include her right to privacy and dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution, as well as her moral rights protected by copyright law.
The High Court emphasized that it was not ruling on the wider issue of personality rights under the Copyright Act at this moment, but it remarked that the evidence submitted was significant enough to necessitate prompt action.
According to the court, any person, especially a woman, cannot be represented without her approval and can not have her right of privacy and dignity without permission violated. The court said there is no way the content can be justified and is deserving of the court’s full condemnation.
In regard to its constitutional duty, the court said that due to the protection of Article 21, the court had to protect the right to live with dignity and the right to make personal choices.
Furthermore, Khan argued that Shetty, due to his high public profile and extensive use of social media, would suffer extreme reputational damage because of the distribution of this type of content.
Agreeing with this concern, the court said the situation could not be tolerated. In the interest of justice, the High Court directed all parties concerned to remove the URLs containing the objectionable content from their platforms with immediate effect.
