Deepfakes violate Anil Kapoor personality rights

What happened

A large number of manipulated videos, GIFs, emojis, ringtones, and faked footage of sexual encounters bearing Kapoor's name, image, likeness and voice, were discovered, some of which bore his phrase 'jhakaas' (which roughly translates roughly as ‘awesome’ or ‘wicked'). 

The incident prompted the actor to file a lawsuit against 16 defendants who had created the morphed videos and merchandise. 

The suit resulted in a landmark decision in which Delhi's High Court reaffirmed Kapoor's personality rights and prohibited 'all offenders from misusing his personality attributes without his permission in any manner.' It also protected the phrase 'jhakaas'.

The court also ordered domain registrar sites, including GoDaddy, to takedown two websites named in the suit.

Why it happened

The rise of deepfake technology has led to unauthorised impersonations and the creation of misleading content that can harm an individual's reputation and financial interests. 

Kapoor's case highlighted how deepfakes were being used to create false endorsements, manipulate images with other celebrities, and sell merchandise without permission. 

The misuse not only violates personality rights but also misleads consumers, prompting the need for legal intervention.