Following the Bombay High Court’s decision on Thursday to grant actor Samantha interim protection against the unauthorised use of her name, image, voice and other personality traits, her legal team has opened up about the circumstances that led to the suit.
Lavin Hirani, managing partner of Hirani & Associates, the law firm representing Samantha, says there was an “urgent need” to approach the court.
“Some of the AI-generated deepfakes were extremely obscene. There were chatbots built to talk like her, and merchandise was being sold online using her name and pictures. None of this was authorised,” he shares.
Hirani explains, “The Court gave directions to the platforms and the relevant government departments for takedowns and blocking.”
{{/usCountry}}Hirani explains, “The Court gave directions to the platforms and the relevant government departments for takedowns and blocking.”
{{/usCountry}}Reflecting on the broader implications of such cases, Hirani shares, “Deepfakes are cheap to make and spread quickly, and the harm to a person’s dignity and reputation is immediate. What’s encouraging is that courts are stepping in and holding platforms responsible for taking such content down.”