Justice Manoj Jain, Delhi High Court
Delhi High Court Directs Meta To Remove Fake Instagram Accounts With Obscene Images Of Minor
|According to the girl, multiple fake Instagram accounts were created in her name, featuring her photographs.
The Delhi High Court issued an order directing Meta, the parent company of Instagram, to remove certain accounts that were allegedly created using the identity of a 15-year-old girl and contained morphed and obscene images of her.
According to the girl, multiple fake Instagram accounts were subsequently created in her name, featuring her photographs some of which were reportedly altered to appear obscene.
A Bench of Justice Manoj Jain noted, "It seems that everything happened after innocuous acceptance of some request received by the minor victim and according to minor victim, various accounts have been created using her identity, thereby constituting a clear and deliberate act of impersonation."
Advocate Simran Brar appeared for the Petitioner and Advocate Varun Pathak appeared for the respondents.
The minor, represented through her mother, approached the Court after discovering these fake accounts. It was alleged in the complaint that some of the photographs had been obtained from the minor through deceptive means and coercion, and were being used to blackmail and intimidate her.
The Court issued an interim order restraining the unidentified individuals responsible for these acts from uploading or sharing any images of the minor, whether altered or otherwise. Furthermore, the Court directed Meta to provide essential subscriber details referred to as Basic Subscriber Information (BSI) which includes Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and other identifying data linked to the creation of these accounts. This data is expected to aid in identifying the individuals involved, who will then be added as named parties in the legal proceedings.
The matter has been scheduled for further hearing on September 8.
Cause Title: Minor Victim through Neetu Chadha v. Meta Platforms INC & Ors.
Appearance:
Petitioner: Advocates Simran Brar, Raghav Awasthi, Ojaswa Pathak, Mukesh Sharma, Dinesh Sharma, and Tanya Lal.
Respondents: Advocates Varun Pathak, Dhruv Bhatnagar, and Nitya Nath, Mamta Rani Jha, Shruttima Ehersa, and Aiswarya Debadarshini.