Overview
- The Delhi High Court, which granted an ex parte ad interim injunction on Monday, June 1, restrained defendants from using Naga Chaitanya’s name, image, voice or likeness without authorisation.
- The court directed multiple websites and sellers to remove specified pornographic URLs and unauthorised merchandise listings and told Google to take down identified YouTube videos and shorts within 24 hours of receiving the order.
- The restraint explicitly covers technologies used to create impersonations, naming generative AI, machine learning, deepfakes, AI chatbots and face-morphing tools as prohibited channels for exploiting the actor’s persona.
- The actor’s suit said porn sites used his name as tags and categories and that AI-generated deepfakes and defamatory videos had damaged his reputation and commercial interests, and the court found a prima facie case of likely irreparable harm.
- The order is temporary and may be challenged, but it underscored a growing trend in Indian courts to recognise personality and publicity rights and could shape how platforms and intermediaries handle AI-enabled impersonation in future cases.