New Delhi [India], August 6 (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Thursday indicated that it may consider framing a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for dealing with cases involving the online misuse of personality rights as it heard actor Tabu’s plea seeking removal of allegedly obscene, defamatory and unauthorised content circulating on digital platforms.
Hearing the matter, Justice Jyoti Singh underscored the need for an effective mechanism to curb the rapid spread of objectionable content online, observing that the issue extends beyond the present dispute.
“The problem does not lie in policy. The problem lies in how to have a mechanism where it can be nipped in the bud so that it does not go online. It is a larger concern,” the Court observed, while indicating that it is considering evolving an SOP to address such cases.
The Court reserved its order on the actor’s application seeking interim relief and listed the matter for further hearing on December 7.
At the outset, Senior Advocate Swathi Sukumar, appearing for Tabu, informed the Court that the memo of parties had been corrected to reflect the proper identities of the social media intermediaries arrayed as defendants.
Justice Singh examined the list of allegedly infringing URLs platform-wise and sought responses from the concerned intermediaries.
Appearing for Meta, Advocate Varun Pathak submitted that all the identified links hosted by the company could be removed. He informed the Court that the list comprised 34 Facebook URLs, 71 Instagram URLs and one Threads link.
Counsel appearing for Google submitted that certain URLs identified by the plaintiff would also be taken down.
Representing GoDaddy, counsel submitted that the dispute also involved domain names and argued that suspension of the domains would automatically disable all associated URLs.
The principal opposition came from Reddit, whose counsel contended that several of the challenged clips were not AI-generated or manipulated but were extracted from Tabu’s own films.
“How is that a violation of personality rights?” Reddit’s counsel submitted, arguing that genuine movie clips could not automatically be treated as infringing merely because they were uploaded on the platform.
Justice Singh responded that the issue could not be decided in isolation and that the Court would have to examine the context in which the clips were being used.
During the hearing, the Court also identified certain links which, prima facie, deserved to be taken down.
When Reddit’s counsel remarked that such an approach would effectively require banning the films themselves, the Court continued examining the nature and presentation of the content.
Advocate Sukumar submitted that objectionable material using the actor’s identity had spread extensively online and argued that search results pairing Tabu’s name with pornographic terms were being commercially exploited by online platforms.
“They are directly benefiting from the word,” she submitted.
Reddit’s counsel maintained that questions relating to alleged defamation and limitation would also arise, pointing out that some of the disputed links had been online for nearly two years.
He further submitted that while one link had already been removed, the remaining clips were excerpts from Tabu’s series A Suitable Boy without any manipulation or deepfake technology.
Highlighting the broader implications of the issue, Sukumar submitted that women celebrities are particularly vulnerable to online abuse and misuse of their identities.
“For women celebrities, there are issues on the internet. Women and children are very vulnerable online,” she argued.
Justice Singh observed that similar concerns had surfaced in several personality rights matters previously heard by the Court.
The Court further observed that while platforms may have content moderation policies, the real challenge lies in creating an effective system capable of preventing objectionable material from proliferating online at the earliest stage.
The Court stated that this larger concern may require the formulation of a structured mechanism, and indicated that it is considering framing a Standard Operating Procedure to deal with such disputes.
Tabu has approached the Delhi High Court seeking protection of her personality rights against the unauthorised use of her name, image, likeness, facial features and other personal attributes across digital platforms.
The suit seeks directions to restrain the creation, publication and dissemination of AI-generated content, digital impersonation and other unauthorised commercial exploitation of her identity. The actor has also sought removal of allegedly obscene and defamatory material using her identity without consent.
The matter first came up earlier this week, when the Court deferred consideration of interim relief after noticing discrepancies in the pleadings and directed the plaintiff to file corrected documents. Following the correction of the memo of parties, the Court heard detailed submissions on the takedown requests but directed that the plaint itself must also be amended before any effective decree could be passed.
Tabu joins a growing list of celebrities and public figures who have moved the Delhi High Court seeking protection against unauthorised commercial exploitation, AI-generated content, deepfakes and digital misuse of their identities. (ANI)
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