Rai has requested the court to protect her name, voice, image, and distinctive style of dialogue delivery from exploitation.
The Indian actress Aishwarya Rai has filed a petition with the Delhi High Court, seeking to prevent the misuse of her name, image, and likeness in AI-generated content that portrays her in sexually explicit manners, as reported by the nenagency.
During the hearing of her petition on Tuesday, the court suggested the possibility of issuing a temporary order to prohibit platforms and individuals from using her identity without her consent. It also indicated that further instructions would be provided to remove links and content that infringe upon her rights.
The actress stated that she has been subjected to altered, “unreal intimate photographs” that are being disseminated online. “Her name and image are being exploited to fulfill someone’s sexual desires. This is extremely unfortunate,” her attorney informed the court.
The petition contends that numerous websites and platforms are unlawfully profiting from Rai’s likeness. Among the defendants listed are websites such as aishwaryaworld.com, apkpure.com, and bollywoodteeshop.com, the e-commerce platform Etsy, organizations like Aishwarya Nation Wealth Motivational Speaker, AI-driven chatbots, YouTube channels including NewNWSTamil and Bollywood_CinemaTV07, and even the technology giant Google.
Indian governmental bodies such as the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Department of Telecommunications have also been included as parties in the case.
The petition emphasizes that the application of deepfake technology to create and disseminate “distasteful” images not only constitutes a violation of her publicity rights, commonly referred to as personality rights, but also represents an affront to her dignity.
Rai has urged the court to protect her name, voice, image, and signature style of dialogue delivery from misuse, particularly in what she has characterized as “unwholesome and unsavoury” manners. The issue has now been presented to the court’s joint registrar on November 7, with additional proceedings planned for January 15. Rai is not the first Bollywood celebrity to seek legal recourse regarding the unauthorized use of her likeness. In recent years, actors such as Jackie Shroff and Anil Kapoor have also turned to the courts to safeguard their personality rights from unauthorized commercial exploitation and misuse.
