Court orders takedown of AI videos targeting Punjab Congress leader

A Chandigarh court has directed three Facebook pages to remove AI-generated videos allegedly portraying Punjab Congress functionary Amandeep Kumar in a negative and misleading manner. The court observed that the content appeared to go beyond legitimate political criticism and could have implications for democratic discourse and the formation of public opinion.

Judicial Magistrate First Class Kuldeep Singh passed the order on October 5 while hearing Kumar's plea seeking an interim injunction against the circulation of the videos. The court found a prima facie case in his favour and noted that the continued circulation of the content could cause irreparable harm to his reputation.

Kumar, a lawyer and Congress political figure, alleged that the Facebook pages — Batale di Rajneeti, Kachi Laan and Thanedar Uncle — had used artificial intelligence to digitally manipulate his face and appearance. According to his petition, the videos depicted him in a body, dress and appearance that he had neither adopted nor consented to.

The petitioner acknowledged that political figures are subject to public criticism and disagreement but argued that the disputed material went beyond legitimate criticism by using fabricated AI-generated representations to ridicule and damage his public image. The videos reportedly received significant public reach, with individual videos garnering tens of thousands of views.

The court observed that the videos appeared to contain politically calculated material and that the pages seemed to have an agenda beyond healthy public criticism. It expressed concern that unverified AI-generated content targeting individuals could adversely affect democratic processes and the formation of public consent.

Kumar's lawyers argued that the continued publication of such manipulated content was causing irreparable injury and sought an ad-interim ex parte injunction restraining the pages from publishing similar material.

The case highlights emerging legal challenges associated with AI-generated deepfakes, digital manipulation, defamation and political speech. It also raises questions about balancing freedom of political expression with an individual's right to reputation and protection from fabricated digital representations.