0 months ago
Bombay High Court orders takedown of Gadkari deepfakes over E20
A very important minister in India, Mr. Nitin Gadkari, takes care of roads and highways for the country.
Some people made fake videos of him using computers, and the videos looked real but were not true.
The videos were about a fuel called E20, which is petrol mixed with alcohol.
Mr. Gadkari said these fake videos were hurting his good name.
He asked a big court called the Bombay High Court to help.
The judge watched the videos and said they were very mean and nasty.
The judge told big companies like Meta, X Corp and Google to take the videos down from the internet.
The companies must also tell the court who put the videos online.
If the videos appear again, the companies must remove them again.
This will help stop bad fake videos from spreading.
The Bombay High Court ordered immediate removal of allegedly defamatory AI-generated deepfake content against Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari.
The court directed platforms including Meta, X Corp (formerly Twitter) and Google LLC to take down the flagged material and provide details of the uploaders.
The content relates to the government's E20 ethanol-blended petrol policy and alleged business gains by Gadkari and his family.
The court described the material as "absolutely abusive and vile fuelling venom" and questioned the platforms' lack of an effective mechanism to prevent such misuse.
Platforms must also remove recirculated and any similar post-suit content and act on future deepfakes; Gadkari filed the suit on July 27.
- Who
- Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, who filed the suit; the Bombay High Court ordered platforms Meta, X Corp (formerly Twitter) and Google LLC to act.
- What
- Interim relief and takedown orders over allegedly defamatory AI-generated deepfake videos and manipulated digital content linked to the E20 ethanol-blended fuel controversy.
- Where
- Bombay High Court, Mumbai, Maharashtra.
- When
- Wednesday, when the Bombay High Court heard and granted interim relief; Gadkari filed the suit on July 27.
- Why
- The court found the content prima facie defamatory and "absolutely abusive and vile fuelling venom" toward the Union minister.
Key facts
- Court
- Bombay High Court
- Plaintiff
- Nitin Gadkari, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister
- Platforms named
- Meta and X Corp (per one report); Meta and Google LLC (per another report)
- Subject
- AI-generated deepfakes and manipulated content linked to the E20 ethanol-blended petrol policy
- Lawsuit filed
- July 27
- Court observation
- "Absolutely abusive and vile fuelling venom"
- Orders
- Immediate takedown, disclosure of uploader details, removal of recirculated and post-suit content, action on future similar deepfakes
- Advocate for Gadkari
- Sandeep S Ladda
Quotes
Bombay High Court
Judge of the Bombay High Court issuing the interim order
“The court observed that the content in question was “absolutely abusive and vile fuelling venom” and ordered platforms, including Meta and Google LLC, to take down the offensive material flagged by Gadkari in his interim application.”
indianexpress.com
“The court prima facie agreed that the content was defamatory and questioned Meta and the other platforms about the absence of an effective mechanism to address such issues.”
republicworld.com
Sources
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