New Delhi, April 20.
The Delhi High Court on Thursday asked Google, YouTube and other entities operating channels on YouTube to refrain from transmitting and take down immediately all content regarding the alleged ill-health of Aradhya Bachchan, the minor daughter of actors Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai.
These channels were spreading adverse reports on her alleged ill-health, Aradhya Bachchan and her father actor Abhishek Bachchan had complained in a petition filed in court. She was a minor and her privacy must be protected, the petition, filed through Anand and Naik, said.
“She’s a minor who’s mental and physical well-being stands to suffer grave harm, if such videos and content continue to be accessible to the public.”
“The need for enforcement of the right to privacy is heightened even more in the case of children, for an unchecked invasion of their privacy, towards the distasteful practice of spreading false information and gaining commercial benefit therefrom, can scar them for no fault of their own.”
The bench accordingly issued summons to Google LLC and several entities operating channels on YouTube to explain this infraction of the law.
The court while issuing the interim directions said that Google LLC was duty-bound in law to ensure strict compliance with the statutory regime relating to intermediaries with which it is governed which includes IT Rules 2021.
These intermediaries will also take down any other fake content which the Bachchans bring to their notice. The court registered the plaint as a suit as it now wants to examine the zero-tolerance policy that Google has in place.
“Generating views and hype through celebrities is one thing. However, there’s a line that must never be crossed,” advocate Pravin Anand said.
“By invading the privacy of the Aradhya Bachchan, a young child, spreading false news about her health, and using the Bachchan family name for a media blitzkrieg, that line was crossed.”
The Delhi High Court has recognized that the privacy of young Aradhya Bachchan needs to be protected, against those that are spreading false news. Such content, the Bachchan plea said, was tarnishing and bringing into disrepute the goodwill vested in the Bachchan family name.
It is undeniable that the true intent behind the videos is to gain wide popularity for their videos, channels and generate disproportionately high revenues through sensationalism, and by spreading false news for shock effect.
The Bachchan family name, deserves a high degree of protection as a trademark under the Trade Marks Act, 1999, as it enjoys unparalleled reputation and goodwill.
The portrayal of the Bachchan family in poor light, and the false claims that they did not take immediate steps to provide prompt medical aid to the child alleged suffering from ill-health causes great harm to their reputation, and the legacy that resides in the family name.
The defendants in this case were creating, uploading, sharing of videos which contain, false and defamatory information about the plaintiffs, it said.
They have not obtained any consent nor have any right or license to use the plaintiffs’ images, provide news to the public regarding the health or other aspects of the personal and private life of any members of the Bachchan family.
Not only that, they have distorted these images, and have morphed them with other objects. Such actions amount to infringement of the personality rights of the members of the Bachchan family.
The use of such images without consent, especially in the context of information which is false and portrays the family members in poor light, denigrates their reputation.
The false narrative regarding their lives amounts to the tort of defamation as it directly impacts the reputation of the family.
The sole purpose behind such distasteful content in the offending videos is to create shock value, gain overnight popularity for the channels uploading such videos, and profit from the use of the Bachchan family name.
All at the cost of violating their privacy and denigrating and denting their reputation and family name.
The defendants have by spreading such false information for shock effect garnered a large number of subscribers. Such false and unlawful information disseminated by them will spread like wildfire, and will induce the subscribers to further repost these videos on YouTube or other platforms.
Unless restrained, the videos will act as a several-headed hydra, which, with each strike of the sword, will continue to develop more heads and cause further menace, the plea said.