MUMBAI: According to a post by Live Law (LiveLaw.in) noting that no person, especially a woman should be portrayed in a fashion or manner which affects their right to privacy and right to live with dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, the Bombay High Court on Friday (yesterday) ordered the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to take down all photos and videos of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty from various websites and social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, most of which are created using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and are being used without her consent and approval.
Presiding over a vacation holiday court, Justice Advait Sethna heard the suit filed by Shetty through her advocate Sana Khan. The plea was filed seeking protection of Shetty’s personality rights, including her right of privacy and a right to live with dignity guaranteed under Article 21, as also protection of her moral rights guaranteed under the Copyright Act, 1957.
Justice Sethna, while clarifying that he would not be adjudicating the merits of the case for protection of Shetty’s personality rights, said he would be only dealing with her right to privacy in the instant interim application, .
The judge noted that Shetty is a well known film personality and also active on various social media platforms. “Portrayal of such images through the URLs or platforms, a list of which has been furnished, would prima facie, tarnish her image and reputation. This cannot be countenanced,” the judge opined. It may be observed that, without even going into the nuances of personality rights of the Plaintiff, the Court’s have treated such rights as a shield for women against privacy violations especially in the context of digital malignment and AI generated content, the judge said, while allowing her interim application and grating the reliefs prayed for.
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