Preity Zinta wins interim court relief against AI…

Bollywood actor Preity Zinta has secured interim protection from the Bombay High Court in a legal battle concerning the unauthorized exploitation of her identity through AI-generated content. The court’s decision underscores the growing judicial focus on protecting an individual's fundamental rights against digital impersonation and the misuse of personality rights.

What happened

In her petition, Zinta argued that AI-generated deepfakes, manipulated images, and rendered visuals were being used to violate her privacy, personality, and publicity rights. The actor detailed that these technologies were used to impersonate her through online chatbot-style interactions. Furthermore, the lawsuit highlighted that several domain names had been registered using her name without her knowledge or consent. Zinta sought to protect various aspects of her identity, specifically her name, nickname, photographs, voice, physical likeness, signature smile, and distinctive features such as her trademark dimples.

During the hearing, the Bombay High Court observed that the unauthorized use of an individual's content directly impacts their fundamental rights. The court expressed concern regarding the creators and distributors of such unlawful content, explicitly reminding social media users and digital platforms of their obligation to exercise due diligence under India's Information Technology Rules.

As part of the interim relief, the court ruled that Zinta is authorized to approach online intermediaries, including Google, Meta, and X, to request the removal of infringing content. If these platforms fail to comply with such requests, the actor is permitted to return to the court for further directions. This ruling aligns Zinta with a growing movement of Indian celebrities, including Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, and Salman Khan, who have pursued legal pathways to safeguard their digital identities against commercial and synthetic exploitation.