Delhi HC shields Kangana Ranaut from AI deepfakes, orders Meta takedown in 72 hours

The Delhi High Court has granted Kangana Ranaut interim protection of her personality rights. The order bars anyone from using her name, image, voice or other personal traits without her consent, and that includes AI deepfakes and fake speeches.

In an order dated October 8, Justice Vikas Mahajan told Meta Platforms to take down the content Ranaut flagged within 72 hours of being served the order. Within the same window, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Department of Telecommunications must tell internet and telecom providers to block the websites she identified.

Its reach is wide. Synthetic media, doctored videos and audio, invented speeches, fake endorsements and impersonation are all covered, and the restraint applies to unnamed John Doe defendants as well. Nobody may run pages, accounts, channels or websites that falsely suggest Ranaut backs them or is linked to them.

Some of the material she placed on record looked obscene or sexually explicit at first glance, and appeared to have been made through AI or manipulation, the court noted. It also took note of a fact-check report on one image the actor said was fake.

Granting interim relief, Justice Mahajan observed that "the apprehension of detriment and damage to the image and personality of the plaintiff, prima facie, appears to be real and present." Fake clips showing a person saying or doing things they never did could fool ordinary viewers, he said, and the risk grows when the person's photo and current position sit next to invented quotes.

Senior advocate Saket Sikri, appearing for the actor and BJP MP, argued that the content violated her rights to personality, publicity, identity and dignity. The suit points to her more than two decades in films and her seat as the MP for Mandi in Himachal Pradesh.

Finding a strong prima facie case, the court said money alone might not repair the harm to her image. These directions hold until the next hearing.