The Delhi High Court has secured the personality rights of Indian batter Abhishek Sharma, restraining third parties from any unauthorized use of his name, image or likeness for commercial or personal purposes, including creation and dissemination of AI-generated content and unauthorised merchandise sales. Justice Jyoti Singh’s interim order, handed down on July 9, directed Meta Platforms, other online platforms, and e-commerce sellers to take down the offending links.
Multiple social media accounts circulated morphed images and videos of the cricketer, harming his reputation and commercial interests. At the same time, unauthorised apparel featuring his name, and image was being sold across various online marketplaces. The AI-generated content included false depictions of Sharma alongside his manager, with the manager incorrectly identified as his girlfriend.
Why did the court find the disputed content particularly harmful?
The bench observed that Sharma holds status as a prominent member of the Indian national cricket team and an emerging international star, and found the disputed content to be false and obscene while portraying the cricketer in a negative light. The court stressed that individuals with established personality rights deserve protection against unauthorised commercial exploitation of their identity.
How many infringing URLs has the case involved?
While Sharma initially approached the court with approximately 25 URLs, the number of allegedly infringing links later grew to around 4,000. Sharma’s advocate Gaurav Bahl informed the High Court that several objectionable URLs had since been removed. Meta Platforms told the court that only two Instagram links remained live on its platforms and assured the bench they would be taken down soon.
The High Court issued summons and notices to defendants through their social media accounts and registered addresses. The matter stands scheduled for further hearing on November 17. This case marks a significant development in how Indian courts are tackling AI-generated deepfakes and unauthorized personality exploitation across digital platforms, particularly as such misuse of public figures’ identities continues to rise online.
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