Artificial Intelligence, Deepfakes, and the Battle of Celebrity Identity: The Emergence of Personality Rights on the Internet.

In the digital world that we have today, a face is not just a face but rather data that can be

copied, remixed, or even sold. Nowadays, it only requires a couple of clicks to reconstruct the

appearance or voice of a person with the help of IT technology and Artificial Intelligence,

and deepfakes. What was once a far-off illusion of the future has turned into the current

reality, and in the case of celebrities, whose persona is loaded with an enormous amount of

cultural and commercial baggage, it is not only intriguing but also profoundly disturbing.

This increasing urgency can be traced in the recent petitions that the actress Aishwarya Rai

Bachchan and the actor Abhishek Bachchan presented to the Delhi High Court. Their interest

in putting their names, images, and personas under the protection of unauthorized usage is not

a case of personal dignity preservation solely, but the preservation of carefully constructed

brands that can be destroyed with misuse. One deepfaking advertisement or fake video can

lead to a permanent reputational cost, loss of value, and audience deception. The speed and

accessibility of deepfakes are what is especially disturbing. Anyone who has access to a

smartphone will be able to produce convincing fakes, and by the time that the truth comes

out, it will be too late. Courts are now being asked to maintain a fine balance, namely, how to

safeguard people, hold digital platforms accountable, and maintain space to innovate and

express free speech.

The commercial value of the persona of a celebrity in Indian jurisprudence is not a new

development, as the legal framework has already considered the case before; however, the

misuse of AI on a significant scale is a game-changer. As nations such as the United States

have worked out more distinct doctrines, like the right of publicity, India continues to use a

collection of principles of privacy, IP, and passing off. There is a growing need to have a

strong statutory framework clearly defining personality rights within the digital environment

and imposing responsibilities on intermediaries. But it is not just about celebrities only. What

is even more profound is what authenticity is in the world where the likeness of anyone can

be reproduced or commodified. When it comes to stars, it is about ownership of their brand;

when it comes to courts, it is about maintaining the relevance of the law, and when it comes

to all of us, it is a reminder that the identity as property is now a valuable and susceptible one.

The petitions of the Bachchans are not, however, merely a battle in court. They are indicators

of a change in the way society has to negotiate identity, technology, and law in the digital era.

They are, in one way, the struggle to secure their personality rights, and, in that way, ours.

Article by Adv. Akshatha Deepak