Mumbai, July 3, 2026: Bollywood actor Preity Zinta has approached the Bombay High Court seeking an injunction against AI-generated deepfakes, morphed images, videos and other unauthorised content depicting her on online platforms.
Court Considers Protective Relief
Hearing the matter on Friday, Justice Madhav Jamdar indicated that he would pass appropriate orders on July 6 after the parties work out a mechanism for taking down the offending material without affecting legitimate online content.
In her suit, Zinta has arrayed several intermediaries as respondents, including Google and Meta, along with domain name registrars and identified infringers.
She has complained of AI-generated deepfake videos, morphed images and chatbot-style interactions using her likeness that are allegedly hosted on various online platforms.
Senior advocate Venkatesh Dhond, representing the actor, submitted that the sophistication of AI-generated deepfakes has increased significantly, making them more convincing and harmful. He sought urgent ex parte directions directing identified websites and intermediaries to remove all infringing content referred to in the suit.
He also sought John Doe orders against unidentified infringers and a wider injunction restraining any person or entity from creating or publishing unauthorised AI-generated or morphed content featuring the actor.
Intermediaries Oppose Blanket Order
Counsel appearing for Google and Meta told the court that they had no objection to removing URLs identified by the plaintiff that contain morphed, deepfake or obscene content.
However, they opposed any blanket direction requiring intermediaries to proactively monitor or remove content beyond the specific material identified in the proceedings. They further submitted that some of the URLs flagged by the plaintiff did not contain the alleged infringing content.
A domain name registrar, meanwhile, submitted that its role is limited to registering domain names and that it has no control over content hosted on third-party websites or social media platforms.
HC Seeks Takedown Mechanism
Justice Jamdar observed that any relief granted by the court must be carefully calibrated to ensure that objectionable material is removed without disrupting legitimate online content.
While indicating that the plaintiff had made out a case for protective relief, the court directed all parties to confer and evolve a practical protocol for the removal of genuinely infringing content while ensuring that lawful content remains unaffected.
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The matter has been posted for further hearing on July 6, when the court is expected to pass orders on the proposed takedown mechanism.
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