The High Court of Bombay on Friday found AI-generated images of actress Shilpa Shetty being published on some websites to be "extremely distressing" and unjustifiable. Terming the act as "reprehensible and condemnable," the court observed that no person, especially a woman, can be portrayed in such a manner, as it infringes upon her fundamental right to privacy.
ALSO READ:
- BMC elections: How many seats will NCP (SP) get from the Shiv Sena-MNS alliance if they are to go with the Thackerays?
- ‘One down, more to come’: Coinbase CEO after Hyderabad police arrest ex-customer service agent
- BMC polls: Mahayuti in trouble, as seat-sharing talks between BJP, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena hit roadblock
Shilpa Shetty had reportedly approached the High Court claiming that AI-generated deepfake images related to her were being circulated across various websites and social media platforms. This content was obscene in nature, with some of it being as recent as two days old, necessitating urgent judicial intervention, her petition said. After analysing the images submitted by the actress, the court granted her relief and directed all respondents in the case to immediately remove the photographs and videos concerned from their respective platforms.
Marathi media reports claimed that the court observed that the petitioner has a fundamental right to privacy and to live with dignity, which cannot be compromised under any circumstances. The judiciary cannot tolerate such acts, the court reportedly added.
Call for urgent intervention
"To reconstruct a person's identity without consent is a violation of their digital personhood. This appears to be the case here. Such blatant violations if found to be true/genuine, by misusing technology and AI ought to be nipped in the bud. A person's much less a woman's dignity cannot be publicly maligned or defamed that too without consent which is the sine qua non for such publications," Live Law quoted the HC as saying.
According to the High Court, the fabricated content was extremely shocking and distressing, Loksatta said in a report. It was a single-judge bench of Justice Advait Sethna that observed the infringement of her privacy, dignity, and moral rights under intellectual property law.
"At this juncture, the material which is on record is prima facie, disturbing. No person much less a woman can be portrayed in a fashion which affects her fundamental right to privacy guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution and that too without her knowledge and/or consent. This would include her right to live with dignity, which cannot be compromised in any manner whatsoever," Justice Sethna reportedly observed. "Portrayal of such images through the URLs, a list of which has been furnished, would prima facie, tarnish her image and reputation. This cannot be countenanced," he further said according to Live Law.
The bench clarified that it was not deciding the broader issue of personality rights under intellectual property law at this stage; rather, that matter would remain open for determination by the regular court.