The Delhi High Court has ordered Meta to take down fake news and obscene content posted online against actor and BJP Member of Parliament Kangana Ranaut. The order came during the latest hearing of her plea seeking the protection of her personality rights. The court has earlier passed similar orders concerning several celebrities.
Kangana Ranaut gets personality protection
The bench of Justice Vikas Mahajan passed the interim order on October 8. The court directed Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, to take down any infringing material flagged by Ranaut within 72 hours. The Court also ordered the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Department of Telecommunications (MEITY) to issue directions to the concerned Internet Service Providers and Telecom Service Providers to block access to websites hosting any such content within the same time frame.
The Court has earlier issued a notice in the matter on October 8, seeking a response from social media intermediaries and entities that have been accused of posting content that violates Kangana Ranaut’s personality rights. During the hearing, Ranaut’s counsel had raised concerns about fake news circulating online regarding the actress and obscene AI-generated content about her.
During its interim order regarding the removal of offensive content, the Court also granted liberty to Ranaut to approach Meta or other internet intermediaries if she found any additional derogatory content.
“The plaintiff is permitted to notify additional infringing URLs, accounts, channels, or content discovered after the filing of the suit to the defendants who shall thereupon remove or disable access to the same without requiring the plaintiff to institute fresh proceedings,” the Court said.
Ranaut’s plea will next be heard on February 3, 2027.
About the case
The court’s latest order comes after a suit was filed by Ranaut seeking protection of her personality and publicity rights. She alleged that fabricated statements, AI-generated content, morphed images and manipulated audio-visual material depicting her were being shared across social media and other platforms.
After examining the plea as well as the accompanying documents, the court noted that Ranaut’s stature gave her proprietary rights over her personality, including the right to protect herself against unauthorised use and commercial exploitation. The court also held that such protection also extends to AI-generated, morphed, sexual and explicit deepfake content.