Syllabus: Indian Constitution — historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.
Context
- Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan sued Google and YouTube alleging AI-generated deepfake videos damaged their personality rights.
- They sought compensation and restrictions on using such data for future AI training.
Nature of Personality Rights
- Personality rights include control over name, image, likeness, voice, and identity markers.
- Rooted in privacy, dignity, and economic autonomy, they evolved to prevent commercial exploitation.
- Deepfakes worsen risks by enabling impersonation, misinformation, and reputational harm.
Indian Legal Landscape
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- India follows a hybrid privacy-property model under Article 21, affirmed in Puttaswamy (2017).
- Courts classify AI-related misuse as breaches of privacy or IP rights.
- Key judgments:
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- Amitabh Bachchan (2022): recognised personality rights.
- Anil Kapoor (2023): banned AI replicas of his voice, face, and “Jhakaas”.
- Arijit Singh (2024): protected his voice from AI replication.
- Laws such as the IT Act, 2000, and 2024 Intermediary Guidelines address impersonation but face enforcement challenges due to anonymity and cross-border data flows.
Comparative Global Framework
- U.S.: Treats personality as a property right (“right of publicity”). Tennessee’s ELVIS Act (2024) bans unauthorised AI cloning.
- EU: Uses a dignity-centric model under GDPR, requiring explicit consent for personal data processing. The EU AI Act (2024) labels deepfakes as high-risk.
- China: 2024 rulings treat voice as protected personality data and penalise deceptive synthetic replication.
Key Ethical Debates
- UNESCO’s AI Ethics 2021 stresses protection of dignity and autonomy.
- Scholars highlight gaps in Indian law and warn against AI recreations of deceased artists, which Indian courts consider non-heritable rights.
- Concerns also arise regarding chatbots mimicking therapists or encouraging harmful behaviour.
Way Forward
- India needs a statutory framework defining personality rights in the AI era.
- Mandatory AI watermarking, platform accountability, and global cooperation must be prioritised.
- The 2024 deepfake advisory is only a starting point; stronger safeguards are essential.