Delhi High Court Orders Removal of Rajat Sharma Deepfakes
Delhi High Court Justice Amit Bansal issued an injunction protecting journalist Rajat Sharma's personality rights and ordering removal of deepfake videos that falsely depicted him endorsing health products. The court restrained eight defendants from misusing his likeness and directed Meta Platforms to take down the fraudulent content.
What happened
Eight defendants allegedly used AI and deepfake technology to create fake videos misrepresenting Rajat Sharma endorsing health products without his consent.
The fraudulent content depicted Sharma promoting purported drugs for conditions such as diabetes and joint pain, falsely associating him with other personalities.
Reported impact
The court expressed concern that the deepfake videos could mislead the public and endanger public health by promoting fraudulent health claims.
The misuse of Sharma's persona posed a serious risk to public safety and damaged his reputation by exploiting it for fraudulent purposes.
Index analysis
Justice Amit Bansal found a prima facie case against the defendants for violating Sharma's personality rights through unauthorized use of his name, image, and voice.
Governance controls
The court issued an ad interim injunction restrained the eight defendants from exploiting Rajat Sharma's likeness, name, image, voice, photos, or videos for any personal or commercial gain without express written permission.
The court directed Meta Platforms Inc. to immediately block or take down any infringing content and granted Sharma the right to request further takedown of any new infringing material that may appear on the platforms.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.