Kriti Sanon Seeks Delhi High Court Protection Against AI Deepfakes and Unauthorized Use of Her Identity
NEW DELHI — Bollywood actress Kriti Sanon has approached the Delhi High Court seeking legal protection against the unauthorized use of her name, image, likeness and other identifying characteristics, including through artificial intelligence-generated content and online impersonation.
The case was heard Friday by Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, who directed Sanon’s legal team to submit relevant court rulings, research papers and other materials addressing the legal issues surrounding personality and publicity rights.
The court indicated that it would issue a comprehensive order after reviewing the submitted materials. The next hearing is scheduled for October 29.
Sanon’s petition comes amid increasing concerns over the use of artificial intelligence to create deepfake videos, fake celebrity endorsements and other digital content that exploits the identities of public figures without their consent.
Personality rights generally involve an individual’s ability to protect identifying attributes such as their name, appearance and voice from unauthorized exploitation. Publicity rights specifically concern the commercial use of those attributes.
Several prominent Indian celebrities have recently turned to the Delhi High Court to prevent the misuse of their identities, particularly through AI-generated content and digital impersonation.
Among those who have sought or obtained legal protection are former cricketers Gautam Gambhir and Sunil Gavaskar, spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and Bollywood actors Arjun Kapoor, Allu Arjun, Nagarjuna, Varun Dhawan, Kajol, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan.
Other public figures involved in similar proceedings include singer Jubin Nautiyal, filmmaker Karan Johar, podcaster Raj Shamani, Congress lawmaker Shashi Tharoor and actor Naga Chaitanya.
In a separate case, the Delhi High Court recently issued summons in a lawsuit filed by actress and Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker Kangana Ranaut, who is seeking protection against the alleged unauthorized use of her identity, including in pornographic and obscene material circulated online.
Justice Vikas Mahajan also issued notice on Ranaut’s application for an interim injunction, which would provide temporary legal protection while the case proceeds.
The court asked Ranaut’s legal team to identify the defendants against whom content removal orders were being sought and directed the submission of a revised list of parties after certain defendants were removed from the proceedings.
The growing number of cases reflects the legal challenges posed by artificial intelligence and other digital technologies that make it increasingly easy to reproduce a celebrity’s face, voice or likeness without permission.
Sanon’s case will return to the Delhi High Court on October 29, when the court is expected to further consider her request for protection of her personality and publicity rights. (Source: IANS)
