Bombay High Court Orders Removal of AI Deepfakes Targeting Shruti Haasan
The Bombay High Court granted interim protection to actor Shruti Haasan against AI-generated deepfakes and morphed images, finding a strong prima facie case of harm to her reputation and commercial interests. The court ordered social media platforms to remove the content and recognised that deepfake material causes irreparable damage that monetary compensation cannot remedy.
What happened
The Bombay High Court granted interim protection to actor Shruti Haasan against AI-generated deepfakes, morphed images, fake endorsements and unauthorised merchandise. Justice Madhav Jamdar noted that a 'very strong prima facie case' had been made out in her favour.
Reported impact
The court found that the continued circulation of deepfake content could cause irreparable harm to Haasan's goodwill, reputation and commercial interests. Justice Jamdar emphasised that such damage cannot be adequately addressed through monetary compensation alone, as deepfake content is capable of unlimited replication and circulation across the internet, resulting in permanent dilution of the plaintiff's personality rights and public image.
Index analysis
The alleged violations included unauthorised use of Haasan's image, personality, publicity and moral rights being infringed through manipulated and superimposed content, including morphed images and chatbots.
Governance controls
The court ordered social media platforms to take down the deepfake, morphed and obscene content targeting Haasan. The ruling recognised the need for protection of personality and publicity rights against AI-generated and manipulated content.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.