Janhvi Kapoor had approached the Delhi High Court seeking removal of over 5,000 webpages and social media posts containing pornographic AI-generated content, impersonating accounts, fake booking agencies and chatbots purportedly commercial exploiting her personality traits without consent. Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani has now directed the takedown of obscene pornographic online content featuring the Peddi actress. However, after passing an interim order to protect her personality rights, the court felt the submissions made by Kapoor’s legal team were ‘overboard’.
Delhi High Court hears Janhvi Kapoor’s petition
According to Bar And Bench, Justice Bhambhani asked s, counsel to revert with a tabulated chart of the webpages that contain “ex facie pornographic, obscene, prurient, lascivious” content seen to be directly monetising her personality rights to promote sale of merchandise or services.
Janhvi Kapoor
What did the court say?
Reacting to Janhvi’s submission of removing over 5,000 pages and other demands, Justice Bhambhani reportedly told the court, “We are not the conscience keepers of the nation. Solution may be worse than the problem. It was at the very root of free speech. You may not be misusing restraint order but there may be others who will. Fan pages may be lampooning, adulatory of your work, critical of your work. You don’t want fans? It is the digital world. No comments, no URLs…You will find yourself living in a cave.”
While denying a dynamic injunction, the said, “They should just be genuflecting in front of you? Stand and touch my feet? How can you shut down all fan clubs? You are a public personality. Who is immune these days? Everyone who is in the public domain is being abused left, right and centre.”
Responding to the interplay of copyrights clashing with personality rights, the Court added, “I have a photo, and I have a right to sell it; how is it monetising you? Somebody writes a book so he can’t sell it? Right to sell a copyrighted work is the copyright owner’s right. I am a potter, I make a mug, I put your likeness on it, I paint you or photograph you and sell it. Who owns the copyright then? The right to the poster will be with the person who took the photograph. Is the right to sell not part of it?”
Janhvi Kapoor
Meta’s response
Advocate Varun Pathak appeared on behalf of Meta and opposed Janhvi’s petition, saying that it is not possible to check the 5,000-plus links stated in the plea. “It is not prohibited by law to not have AI generated pictures. These people also have a right to livelihood. They want a dynamic injunction of cleaning up the internet,” said Advocate Pathak. However, the Delhi High Court warned Meta not to ‘overstep your role’.
According to Bar And Bench, the next hearing is on August 17. Janhvi’s legal team is yet to respond to the decision.