The Delhi High Court has issued interim protection to actor Tabassum Jamal Hashmi, known professionally as Tabu, against unauthorized commercial use of her name, image, voice and other personal attributes via artificial intelligence, deepfakes or face-morphing tools. Justice Jyoti Singh ruled on August 6 that the performer faced likely irreparable injury without such safeguards. The decision responded to her lawsuit targeting individuals and online platforms accused of exploiting her personality rights, distributing defamatory material, selling merchandise with her photographs and spreading altered or AI-created content. The court observed that Tabu is a globally recognized, award-winning performer whose work over three decades has made a significant impact in Indian and international cinema. It noted that her name, stage moniker Tabu, image, voice and likeness possess distinctive qualities instantly recognized by the public. The ruling affirmed her right to safeguard these attributes and prevent third parties from misappropriating them without consent. In her petition, Tabu reported encountering AI-generated explicit images and videos created to draw attention through sensationalism. Some clips involved edited excerpts from her films and public appearances altered to appear obscene, with certain scenes zoomed and slowed to emphasize intimate moments for viewer engagement and profit, thereby portraying her negatively. The court barred the defendants from exploiting her personality or publicity rights without permission, covering her name, voice recordings, signatures, photographs and film stills. It instructed Google, Meta, X and Reddit to remove designated URLs and directed GoDaddy to suspend specified domain names.
