Deepfakes violate Anil Kapoor personality rights

Occurred: September 2023

Deepfake videos recreating the image and likeness of Indian actor Anil Kapoor resulted in his loss of personality rights and a legal victory in which these rights were protected across all channels worldwide.

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.

What it means

The ruling was seen to set a precedent for protecting personality rights in India, particularly as AI technologies continue to evolve, and to underscore the judiciary's recognition of privacy as a fundamental right and the necessity for laws that adapt to new technological realities. 

Kapoor's victory may encourage other celebrities to seek similar protections against unauthorised uses of their likenesses, potentially leading to more robust legal frameworks addressing AI-related abuses in the entertainment industry.

Personality rights

Personality rights, sometimes referred to as the right of publicity, are rights for an individual to control the commercial use of their identity, such as name, image, likeness, or other unequivocal identifiers.

Source: Wikipedia 🔗

System 🤖

Operator:  
Developer:  
Country: India
Sector: Media/entertainment/sports/arts
Purpose: Generate revenue; Damage reputation
Technology: Deepfake - video, audio; Machine learning
Issue: Accountability; Impersonation; Mis/disinformation; Transparency

Page info
Type: Incident
Published: September 2023
Last updated: November 2024