Bollywood stars Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan are urging judges to protect the voices and portraits of the age of artificial intelligence with a big focus on YouTube, Google's video platform.
what is the matter?
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, widely recognized for her iconic appearance at the Cannes Film Festival, asked the court to defeat and ban AI-generated videos that violate their intellectual property rights.
According to legal documents reviewed by Reuters, the couple is also asking for an order in a wider movement that requires Google to implement measures to prevent such YouTube videos in order to prevent such YouTube videos.
Also Read: From false support to voice clones, AI will launch a new celebrity legal war
Over the past few years, several Bollywood celebrities have begun to argue “moral rights” claims in Indian courts, as there are no specific legal protections found in many states of India.
However, Bachchan's legal action stands out as the most high-profile case to date, highlighting how misleading or deepfake videos on platforms like YouTube highlights misleading concerns, used to train AI models, and can raise serious questions about the intersection of moral rights and emerging technologies.
YouTube “argument” content
The actor argues that YouTube content and third-party training policies can agree to the sharing of videos users have created to train rival AI models, and a further surge in misleading content.
“This kind of content used to train AI models can multiply an instance of the use of infringing content, meaning it is first uploaded on YouTube, viewed by the public, and then used for training,” Filing said.
Representatives from both Bachchans and Google declined to comment on the Reuters inquiry.
Also Read: Bollywood vs Deepfaak: Not just Aishwarya Rai, Alia Bhatt, Rashmika Mandanna and other celebrities who became victims
Last month, the Delhi High Court directed Google's attorneys to submit written responses prior to the next scheduled hearing on January 15th.
YouTube's value in India continues to grow, with Indian Managing Director Gunjan Soni calling the platform “India's new TV.” With around 600 million users, India is the world's largest market for YouTube and is particularly popular for its entertainment content, including Bollywood-related videos, Reuters reported.
Lawsuit claims YouTube videos are “bad”
Indian courts have begun surveillance as they are concerned about the harmful effects of generated AI content that Bollywood celebrities have on public image. In 2023, the Delhi Court issued an order to prevent the misuse of actor Anil Kapoor's image, voice and even popular catchphrases.
Also Read: Watch: Donald Trump shares AI-generated video showing Barack Obama handcuffing and gets jailed by the FBI
Reuters first revealed certain details of Bachchan's legal action against Google, as outlined in a broad, 1,500-page court filing.
Many of their cases focus on small sellers who distribute fraudulent products, such as posters, coffee mugs, stickers featuring their images, and even fake, signed photos, but they also raise wider concerns.
Bachchan seeks $450,000 in damages
Bachchans is seeking $450,000 in damages from Google and others, and a permanent injunction to prevent further misuse of likeness and personal attributes.
The lawsuit includes hundreds of links and screenshots of what YouTube videos claim to show “bad,” “sexually explicit,” or “fictional” AI content.
The judge ordered 518 website links and posts in early September, specifically listed by the actor, saying it caused financial harm to the couple and hurt their dignity and goodwill.
Also Read: From Fake Inventory to Deepfake: Cybercriminals Target Older People with Rising Online Screams in India
However, Reuters found a video similar to the example of a compromised video cited in a YouTube Abhishek paper.
Among them is a clip showing Abhishek posing but using AI manipulation to suddenly kiss a movie actress. The depiction of AI, where Aishwarya and her co-star Salman Khan enjoying a meal together while Abhishek stands behind. And as Khan tries to save him, a crocodile chases after Abhishek.
Khan had an affair with Aishwarya long before his marriage.
Can AI generate Bollywood love stories?
YouTube's data sharing policy allows content creators to choose to share videos for training AI models developed by third-party companies such as Openai, Meta, and Xai. However, YouTube points out that once users agree to such data sharing, they “have no control over what third-party companies do.”
Also Read: Delhi High Court Grants Aishwarya Rai Temporary Protection in Moral Rights Case
In their court application, Bachchan argues that if AI models are trained on misleading or defamatory content that violates intellectual property and portrays negatively, these systems are likely to internalize and perpetuate that false information, resulting in wider spread.
Ehan Ghosh, chairman of intellectual property rights at the National Legislative University of Delhi, said it would be difficult for the actor to construct a direct lawsuit against YouTube.
Also Read: Pakistani News Anchor Becomes the Latest Victim of “Deep Magical Threat” as Explicit Videos Go Viral
But “it's not going to be beyond pale for the court to tweak YouTube to write something in user policies and set up cue jumps to respond quickly to legal requests,” he said.
YouTube in May revealed that it had paid more than $2.4 billion to Indian creators over the past three years. The actors claimed that creators who violated their personality rights can make money when the video became popular.
Reuters found the channel on YouTube entitled “Ai Bollywood Ishq” which shares “AI Generated Bollywood Love Stories.” 259 videos have earned 16.5 million views. The most popular video with 4.1 million views shows AI animations of Khan and Aishwarya in the pool, while another video shows them in the swing.
The tutorial explains that the channel has turned it into a video using Hailuo AI from Chinese AI startup Minimax using a simple text prompt to create images via X's Grok AI. Reuters tests generated an AI video showing Bollywood stars Khan and Abhishek's Rukkiarik in a boxing fight within five minutes.
Such content used to train AI models can multiply instances of use of infringing content.
It was unclear if the YouTube channel agreed to share these videos for AI training. “The content is created solely for entertainment and creative storytelling,” the channel's page said.
(Includes input from Reuters)
