Preity Zinta has approached the Bombay High Court seeking an injunction against the circulation of AI-generated deepfake videos, morphed images, and other unauthorized digital content depicting her.
The case was filed under the title “Preity Zinta v. Google LLC & Ors”.When the matter came up on July 3, Justice Madhav Jamdar indicated that he would pass orders on July 6 after directing the parties to work together on a practical mechanism to remove the allegedly infringing content from online platforms.In its suit, Zinta named several intermediaries as respondents, including Google and Meta, along with domain name registrars and some named infringers.
It has claimed that the AI-generated deepfake videos, manipulated images and chatbot-style interactions it depicts are being hosted across various online platforms. During an appearance for Zinta, chief advocate Venkatesh Dhonde argued that AI-generated deepfakes are becoming increasingly sophisticated.
He urged the court to grant urgent ex parte relief and direct the identified websites and intermediaries to immediately remove all infringing materials referred to in the pleadings.
Dhond also asked John Doe to issue injunctions against anonymous violators and sought a broader injunction preventing all persons from posting or distributing unauthorized AI-generated content featuring Zinta.The attorney representing Google and Meta informed the court that they had no objection to the removal of URLs containing diverted or obscene material identified by the plaintiff. However, they opposed any blanket guidance that would require intermediaries to proactively monitor or remove content that may not be infringing.
They also confirmed that some of the URLs flagged in the lawsuit did not contain objectionable material.The domain name registrar stated that its role is limited to registering domain names and that it has no control over the URLs that direct users to content hosted on social media platforms.Justice Jamdar noted that any relief granted by the court must be carefully designed to ensure that objectionable content is removed without affecting legitimate online material. While the judge expressed the view that the case warranted preventive relief, he directed all parties to cooperate on a workable protocol that would facilitate the removal of genuinely infringing content while protecting lawful content.
The case is scheduled to be heard again on July 6.
