The Delhi High Court on Friday directed Google LLC to take down two YouTube channels that were allegedly circulating deepfake and fabricated videos impersonating journalist Rajat Sharma. The court ordered that the channels be removed within 36 hours and that their backend details be disclosed to Sharma within a week.
Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, while allowing Sharma’s fresh interim application in his ongoing suit seeking protection of his personality rights, observed that the journalist had made out a clear case for urgent intervention. “Keeping in the averments made in the application categorically asserting the videos uploaded on these channels are fake, doctored and AI generated impersonating plaintiff no. 1 (Sharma) and spreading misinformation, the court is satisfied that the plaintiff has made out a case for issuance of directions as prayed for,” the judge said.
The bench directed Google to share with Sharma the Business Service Identifier (BSI), access and contact details, and monetisation data of the offending channels. It also instructed Google to ensure that identical or mirror content is removed proactively, sparing the plaintiff from the burden of tracking down such material.
“The action is not only necessary to protect the plaintiff’s common law rights and statutory rights but also to help in stopping the spreading of misinformation,” the court observed.
Further, the court asked Google and Sharma to hold a mutual meeting, allowing Sharma to directly flag deepfake content for prompt removal.
The journalist’s counsel argued that the two YouTube channels were almost entirely dedicated to impersonating Sharma, using his likeness, voice, and visual identity without authorization. The channels had allegedly lifted copyrighted footage from his news channel, edited and doctored it using AI tools, and circulated fabricated videos portraying him and other prominent journalists falsely.
Calling them “rogue” channels, the counsel sought their complete removal rather than just the takedown of specific videos. The court accepted this argument, citing the need to curb misinformation at its source.
The High Court also granted Sharma liberty to approach Google regarding any other false or fake videos uploaded against him on other platforms or channels. It directed Google to take down such videos within 48 hours of receiving notice from Sharma.
Earlier, another bench of the High Court had passed an interim order safeguarding Sharma’s personality rights and directed the removal of any doctored content bearing his name, image, or voice.
