Delhi HC protects Yuvraj Singh's personality rights, orders removal of AI-generated deepfakes
The Delhi High Court has protected the personality and privacy rights of former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh, restraining third parties from using his name, image, voice, likeness and other personality attributes without authorisation for commercial or personal gain.
The court also directed Meta Platforms and other online platforms to remove unauthorised content featuring the cricketer, including AI-generated images and deepfake videos that allegedly tarnished his reputation.
Justice Jyoti Singh, in an interim order passed on July 29, said Yuvraj Singh was one of the most recognised and globally renowned cricketers and that those violating his personality and privacy rights needed to be "dealt with a heavy hand".
The order protects the use of the name 'Yuvraj Singh' and 'Yuvi', as well as his image, voice, likeness and other attributes of his persona.
Yuvraj had approached the court alleging that his personality attributes were being misused for the unauthorised sale of merchandise. He also claimed that several social media accounts were circulating AI-generated images and videos portraying him in fabricated and fictional situations.
According to his counsel, some of the objectionable content included religiously insensitive posts, videos depicting aggressive and violent behaviour towards fellow cricketers, and posts containing vulgar and abusive language.
The court observed that Yuvraj's stature as a celebrated cricketer gave him proprietary rights over his personality and associated attributes, including the exclusive right to use them commercially and protect them from unauthorised exploitation.
"The contents of the impugned AI-generated posts and deep fake videos are tarnishing the immense goodwill and reputation of the plaintiff," the court said, noting that his reputation had been built through years of hard work, cricketing performances and social welfare contributions.
Several public figures, including actors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Salman Khan, Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, journalist Sudhir Chaudhary, podcaster Raj Shamani, Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan and cricketer Abhishek Sharma, have previously approached the Delhi High Court seeking protection of their personality and publicity rights.
