Delhi High Court Orders Takedown Of Deepfake Porn Targeting Influencer; Directs Meta, X To Disclose Offenders’ Details
The influencer claimed that manipulated videos and images portraying her in an indecent and offensive manner were being circulated online.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court issued an interim order directing social media platforms and pornographic websites to promptly remove deepfake and AI-generated obscene images and videos that depict a social media influencer in a derogatory and malicious manner.
The influencer had approached the High Court claiming that manipulated videos and images portraying her in an indecent and offensive manner were being circulated online.
A Bench of Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, said, “The plaintiff is at liberty to notify defendant Nos. 28 to 31 or any other intermediary platforms/website(s), of any subsequently discovered URLs containing the offending Suit images or identical content, as found on their respective social media platforms and/or websites, which shall be acted upon by the said defendants.”
The Court noted, “On a prima facie perusal of the same, it is seen that the content is completely appalling, deplorable, defamatory, and is a patent breach of the fundamental rights of the plaintiff.”
Advocate Raghav Awasthi appeared for the Plaintiff and Advocate Mamta Rani Jha appeared for the Respondents.
Her legal team argued that the circulation of such content not only violated her fundamental rights, particularly her right to privacy, dignity, and reputation, but also constituted a grave civil wrong under the law of torts.
After reviewing the submissions, the Court found merit in the plaintiff’s claims and accordingly issued a temporary injunction against the dissemination of the illicit material.
Additionally, the Court instructed major platforms Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram) and X Corp (formerly Twitter) to provide complete details of the social media accounts or users who had uploaded or circulated the defamatory content. It added, "Having considered the averments made in the instant application and under the aforesaid circumstances, defendant no.28 i.e. X. CORP. and defendant no.29 i.e. Meta Platforms, Inc. are directed to disclose the Basic Subscriber’s Information and complete details of defendant nos.1 to 8."
Taking cognizance of the sensitive nature of the case, the Delhi High Court also ordered the redaction of the plaintiff’s personal details from public court records. The Registry was directed to ensure that the plaintiff’s name and identifying information be removed from the case documents and to amend the cause title in line with the applicable rules for maintaining confidentiality in such matters.
Cause Title: X v. JIX5A & Ors.
Appearance:
Plaintiff: Advocate Raghav Awasthi.
Respondent: Advocates Mamta Rani Jha, Rohan Ahuja, Shruttima Ehersa, Diya, and Aishwarya, Chetanya Puri, Anubhav Tyagi, Nisha, and Puneet Singh.
