Bombay High Court Orders Takedown of AI Deepfakes Targeting Minister Nitin Gadkari

The Bombay High Court (HC) has issued an order for the takedown of AI-generated deepfake content targeting Nitin Gadkari, India's Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways. The content is reportedly linked to the E20 ethanol-blended fuel policy, which Gadkari has advocated.

The court's directive also includes the removal of any future flagged content and requires the disclosure of subscriber information for all account holders named in Gadkari's plea. This action aims to curb the spread of malicious AI-generated media.

"Such material should have no place on a public platform," stated Justice Arif Doctor, emphasizing the need for platforms like Meta and Google to have more proactive mechanisms for dealing with abusive content. The court questioned the intermediaries' stance that individuals must approach them with complaints before action is taken.

Gadkari's legal team argued that the intermediaries should publicize clear procedures for raising grievances. The minister's plea, according to LiveLaw, asserts that neither he nor his ministry was involved in creating the E20 policy, which was established nationally in 2003. The lawsuit clarifies it does not aim to stifle fair criticism but to address defamatory and fabricated content that infringes on personality and publicity rights without consent.