Bollywood actor and Indian Premier League franchise co-owner Preity Zinta has approached the Bombay High Court over the alleged misuse of AI-generated deepfakes, morphed images and other unauthorised digital content created using her identity without consent.
According to court filings, Zinta has named Google LLC, Meta Platforms Inc., domain name registrars, several identified individuals and John Doe defendants, allowing legal action against unknown persons allegedly responsible for creating or circulating the content, reports Hindustan Times.
The petition alleges that AI-generated deepfake videos, morphed images and chatbot-style conversations using her likeness have appeared on platforms including YouTube, Instagram and Facebook without her knowledge or permission.
Representing the actor, senior advocate Venkatesh Dhond argued that rapid advances in artificial intelligence have made deepfakes increasingly convincing, making it difficult for people to distinguish fabricated content from genuine material. He urged the court to direct websites and online intermediaries to remove all allegedly infringing content identified in the petition and sought broader safeguards against the future spread of unauthorised AI-generated material featuring Zinta.
The legal team also argued that AI tools had allegedly used her face, identity and public image to create fake advertisements, promotional material and other commercial content without authorisation. The petition claims this infringes her personality rights, moral rights and right to privacy. It further alleges that websites operating under domain names containing her name, despite having no connection to her, are hosting such content.
Lawyers representing Google and Meta told the court they were willing to remove links containing morphed or obscene content if Zinta identified the specific URLs. However, they urged the court not to issue a blanket order requiring online platforms to continuously monitor or remove content that may not violate any rights. They also submitted that some links listed in the petition did not contain objectionable material.
A domain name registrar named in the case said its role is limited to registering domain names. It told the court that it neither hosts online content nor controls material uploaded to social media platforms or other websites.
Justice Madhav Jamdar observed that any court order should strike a balance by removing only objectionable material while ensuring legitimate online content remains unaffected.
While acknowledging that the petition raises genuine concerns deserving protection, the judge directed all parties to hold discussions and develop a practical takedown mechanism capable of identifying and removing infringing content without affecting lawful material.
The court’s observations reflect the growing challenge of regulating AI-generated content, where fake and genuine material often appear similar and the sheer volume of online content makes individual scrutiny increasingly difficult.
Zinta’s petition follows similar legal action by several Indian celebrities over the unauthorised use of their identities online. Actors Kartik Aaryan, Shatrughan Sinha, Shilpa Shetty, Akshay Kumar and Suniel Shetty, along with singers Asha Bhosle and Arijit Singh, have sought comparable protection in recent years.
Before filing the suit, Zinta obtained permission under Clause XII of the Letters Patent, allowing the Bombay High Court to hear the matter even though only part of the dispute falls within its jurisdiction.
On 16 June, Justice Abhay Ahuja allowed the actor to proceed with the lawsuit after hearing submissions from her legal team. They argued that although the alleged content may have originated from different parts of the world, the damage to her reputation and goodwill is felt in Mumbai, where she is based.
The matter came before Justice Madhav Jamdar on 3 July. The court declined to issue immediate ex parte directions and instead asked all parties, including Google and Meta, to work towards a practical solution for removing objectionable content while protecting legitimate material. The next hearing is scheduled for 6 July.
