HC directs social media platforms to act within week on Pawan Kalyan's plea

The Delhi High Court on Friday directed social media intermediaries to act within seven days on Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan's plea seeking protection of his personality rights.

Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora noted that the politician has already approached the social media intermediaries with his grievances.

In a similar matter concerning actor Ajay Devgn, the court clarified while granting him interim relief that the plaintiffs in such matters would have to first lodge their protest with the social media intermediaries and then approach the court.

The court directed the social media intermediaries to treat Kalyan's plea as a complaint under the Information and Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, and take the necessary steps within seven days.

It said that in case the social media intermediaries have any reservations about any links given by Kalyan, they should inform him.

Senior advocate J Sai Deepak, representing Kalyan, said the deputy CM was aggrieved by artificial intelligence (AI) videos of him circulating on Google, impersonation and fake association content on Meta and e-commerce platforms.

The court directed the plaintiff to provide the social media intermediaries within 48 hours URLs which he is seeking to be taken down. It listed the matter for further hearing on December 22.

Kalyan, who is associated with the Janasena Party (JSP), approached the high court seeking to prevent the unauthorised use of his name and images by social media platforms and e-commerce websites, and to protect his personality rights.

The right to publicity, popularly known as personality rights, is the right to protect, control and profit from one's image, name or likeness.

Recently, Bollywood actors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, her husband Abhishek Bachchan and her mother-in-law Jaya Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan and Devgn, filmmaker Karan Johar, singer Kumar Sanu, Telugu actor Akkineni Nagarjuna, 'Art of Living' founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, journalist Sudhir Chaudhary and podcaster Raj Shamani also approached the high court seeking protection of their personality and publicity rights. The court granted them interim relief.

Bollywood actor Salman Khan, Telugu actor NTR Rao Junior and former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar have also approached the Delhi High Court seeking protection of their personality rights.