Shruti Haasan has secured interim protection from the Bombay High Court in a legal battle over the misuse of her image and identity through artificial intelligence.
The actor had approached the court seeking protection against s*xually explicit deepfakes, manipulated videos and unauthorised endorsements or merchandise using her persona. The court has recognised the harm caused by AI-generated content and directed the removal of material identified as fake by Shruti Haasan. The order also shows the importance of protecting an individual’s personality, publicity and privacy rights as AI technology makes it easy to create and circulate manipulated content online.
Bombay High Court Recognises Threat Of AI Deepfakes To Shruti Haasan
According to a report by Bar and Bench, Justice Madhav Jamdar observed that AI-generated content can be reproduced and circulated online without boundaries, potentially causing irreparable harm to Shruti Haasan’s reputation and business interests. The court mentioned that monetary compensation alone would not be sufficient to address the damage.
The Bombay High Court also found that Shruti Haasan had established a “very strong prima facie case” in her favour. It directed the removal of content identified as fake by the actor and granted her interim relief in the matter.
Shruti Haasan had filed the lawsuit against several entities allegedly involved in creating, hosting or distributing unauthorised content featuring her identity. Some of the respondents reportedly failed to appear before the court or submit their defence despite being given an opportunity to do so.
Shruti Haasan’s Personality And Publicity Rights Get Protection
The court’s order also addressed Shruti Haasan’s personality, publicity and privacy rights. It mentioned that s*xually explicit content, deepfake and superimposed photographs, videos and images using her identity could violate these protections. The order referred to Articles 19(1)(a) and 21 of the Constitution, which cover freedom of expression and the right to life and personal liberty, including privacy and dignity.
The case comes as Shruti Haasan continues to work across Tamil, Telugu and Hindi cinema. Her filmography includes 3, Gabbar Is Back, Srimanthudu, Singam 3, and Coolie.
Shruti Haasan who was last seen in Ram Charan’s Peddi is also set to appear in Aakasamlo Oka Tara, an upcoming multilingual film directed by The film stars Dulquer Salmaan and Satvika Veeravalli in the lead roles and is being produced by Sandeep Gunnam and Ramya Gunnam under Lightbox Media. The entertainer is expected to release in Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada and Hindi.