Bollywood star Preity Zinta has been granted permission by the Bombay High Court to file a civil suit against Google, Meta, and other entities over alleged AI-generated deepfakes and manipulated content using her identity. She may seek injunctions and damages by enforcing personality rights against deepfake videos, memes, and chatbot personas exploiting her persona. Preity Zinta has won an important legal victory in her battle against the misuse of artificial intelligence and digital content.
The Bombay High Court has allowed the Bollywood actor to file a civil suit against Google LLC, Meta Platforms, and several other parties for the alleged creation and circulation of AI-generated deepfake videos, altered images, chatbot personas, and other content that useEnterta her identity without her consent. Preity Zinta argued that the unauthorised use of her persona damaged her reputation, goodwill, and intellectual property rights. The court’s decision has now opened the door to a major legal fight over personality rights in the digital era.
Bombay High Court Grants Preity Zinta Permission to Take Legal Action Against Meta and Google
The Bombay High Court has granted Preity Zinta permission to file a civil suit against Google LLC and several social media platforms and websites. As some of the parties are located outside Mumbai and the alleged online activities took place both within and beyond the city’s jurisdiction, Zinta sought the court’s approval to pursue the matter before the High Court.
According to the Bar and Bench, Justice Abhay Ahuja heard the matter and permitted the actor to file the suit on the original side of the Bombay High Court. The order marks a significant procedural step, allowing Zinta to formally pursue legal action against the entities she claims are responsible for circulating the disputed content online.
Preity Zinta’s Persona Allegedly Exploited Through Deepfakes
According to the actor, the defendants created and shared AI-generated deepfake videos, altered photographs, memes, chatbot personas, and other digital content using her identity without permission. Advocate Rohan Kadam, appearing for Zinta, told the court that this material was circulated across various digital platforms, leading to a violation of her rights and public image.
The actress Preity Zinta argued that the alleged misuse of her image and identity violated her personality rights and severely harmed her reputation and public image. Zinta further stated that the unauthorised content damaged the goodwill and trust she had earned through her decades-long career in the entertainment industry and among her audience.
Apart from personality rights, the actress has alleged infringement of copyright and violation of her moral rights under Section 62 of the Copyright Act, 1957. Her legal team submitted that the digital content not only misappropriated her identity but also affected her professional standing and public perception. Since the material was allegedly circulated globally through online platforms, the actor argued that the impact extended far beyond a single jurisdiction. Justice Ahuja accepted this reasoning and granted the leave Zinta had sought.
On the work front, Preity Zinta was last seen on the big screen in the 2018 action-comedy film Bhaiaji Superhit.