Abhishek Sharma moves Delhi High Court seeking takedown…

Indian cricketer Abhishek Sharma has initiated legal action in the Delhi High Court to protect his personality rights following the circulation of alleged defamatory and Artificial Intelligence-generated content online. The cricketer is seeking a court-ordered takedown of multiple social media posts that he claims misrepresent him.

What happened

The legal proceedings, heard by Justice Jyoti Singh on July 8, 2024, center on a suit filed by Sharma requesting the removal of specific URLs containing AI-synthesized material. During the initial hearing, the court declined to issue interim directions, citing procedural deficiencies in the filing. Specifically, the court noted that the screenshots of the allegedly infringing URLs had not been properly annexed to the suit, preventing an immediate examination of the evidence. Justice Singh directed Sharma to file an additional affidavit with the correct screenshots to proceed with the request.

Representing Meta, advocate Varun Pathak noted that two of the eight URLs cited in the suit were inaccessible, while another appeared to be paparazzi-uploaded content rather than AI-generated material. Counsel for Sharma contested these claims, maintaining that the content is indeed AI-generated. A specific point of contention raised by the plaintiff’s counsel involved a post that falsely identified Sharma's manager as his girlfriend. The Delhi High Court has deferred further consideration of the matter until the required documentation is properly filed by the plaintiff.