Janhvi Kapoor Takes Legal Action Over Deepfakes

New Delhi, August 12, 2026 The growing use of artificial intelligence has created new challenges for celebrities whose names, images and likenesses can be misused without consent. Actor Janhvi Kapoor has approached the Delhi High Court seeking protection of her personality rights after coming across pornographic and obscene material circulating online in her name and using her image. Her plea also raises concerns over social media impersonation and AI-generated deepfakes. The Delhi High Court has directed social media platforms and websites to remove deepfakes, sexually explicit content and unauthorised pornographic imagery featuring the actor. At the same time, the court is considering whether imposing a blanket ban on fan pages would be justified. It observed that genuine fan pages should not necessarily be shut down, as such accounts may simply express admiration for celebrities and share regular updates about them. The court underlined that personality rights have to be balanced with the right to freedom of speech and expression. While unauthorised and obscene use of a celebrity's identity requires protection, genuine fan engagement and public discussion cannot be suppressed. Therefore, fan pages and meme accounts that do not share infringing or obscene content will continue to operate. According to media reports, Meta's representative opposed the idea of manually verifying thousands of disputed links on the platform, stating that it would be “impossible” to do so. Janhvi Kapoor's representative is expected to present their position at the next hearing. Janhvi had also spoken about social media trolling during a 2022 interview, saying, “I have become increasingly indifferent to it. But time and again, I think I am always a little surprised and taken aback by just the double standards sometimes. And how bitter some people can be, but then again, it’s not a big deal,” the actress said. Her latest legal action highlights the difficult balance between safeguarding a public figure's identity from AI-enabled abuse and preserving legitimate online expression. As technology makes digital impersonation increasingly sophisticated, the case could have wider implications for how personality rights and online speech are protected.