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Anupamaa actor Rupali Ganguly moves Bombay High Court over deepfakes, seeks action against misuse of her photos and identity with AI
Rupali Ganguly has sought a court order preventing individuals and organisations from using her name, photographs or likeness without her consent.
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Rupali Ganguly has approached the Bombay High Court over the unauthorised use of her photographs and identity on the internet. The actor, best known for Sarabhai vs Sarabhai and Anupamaa, has raised concerns over her pictures being used for fake endorsements and AI-generated content, including sexually explicit images. Seeking legal protection, she has asked the court to intervene to safeguard her personality rights against such misuse.
Rupali Ganguly's plea to come up for hearing on November 4
As reported by Live Law India, the case has been filed through advocate Sana Raees Khan and will be heard on November 4 by Justice Madhav Jamdar. In her interim plea, Rupali has sought a court order preventing individuals and organisations from using her name, photographs or likeness without her consent.
The plea also raises concerns about the misuse of technology to create fake images and videos. It specifically mentions artificial intelligence, generative AI, machine learning, deepfakes and face-morphing tools, which can be used to make it seem as though a person has endorsed a product or featured in content they have never been associated with.
Online stores and booking platforms under the scanner
Rupali has named 18 respondents in the case, including online boutiques, celebrity booking and talent-management platforms, Reddit, AI image-generation platform SeaArt AI and Google LLC, which operates Tenor. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) have also been made parties to the suit.
In her plea, the actor has pointed out that some online stores are allegedly using her photographs or images that resemble her to promote sarees and other clothing. This, she claims, creates the impression that she is endorsing these products. She has also flagged booking websites that claim to have access to her team and offer to arrange her appearances at private events and brand promotions, despite not having her authorisation.
Sexually explicit deepfakes raise serious concerns
The actor has also raised concerns over fake images allegedly showing her in sexually explicit and compromising situations. According to her plea, AI tools and photo-editing software have been used to create and circulate such content. She has specifically pointed to objectionable posts featuring her pictures on Reddit, as well as AI-generated images found on SeaArt AI. Rupali has argued that the issue goes beyond the unauthorised use of her photographs.
She has said that the circulation of such material infringes on her privacy, dignity and reputation. She has also objected to businesses using her name and image to promote products or services without her permission, pointing out that her identity carries goodwill built over years of work in the entertainment industry.
The actor has urged the Bombay High Court to ask Reddit, Google, MeitY and DoT to take down the objectionable content and remove the links identified in her plea. She has also sought action against websites and applications allegedly using her identity without permission.
About Rupali Ganguly
Rupali Ganguly has been a familiar face on Indian television for over two decades. She first caught viewers' attention as Dr Simran in Sanjivani, followed by her much-loved turn as Monisha Sarabhai in the popular sitcom Sarabhai vs Sarabhai. She went on to feature in shows such as Baa Bahoo Aur Baby and Parvarrish – Kuchh Khattee Meethi. She is currently leading the show Anupamaa on Star Plus, which was her comeback on TV in 2020.
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