Tabu is the latest celebrity to get legal protection from the growing misuse of artificial intelligence and digital technology. Delhi High Court has been reported online as providing her name, image and voice protection from unauthorised use of AI-generated content, deepfakes and face-morphing.
The legal protection comes as celebrities’ names and images are increasingly being used without permission. And with AI tools that now make it easier to develop real images, videos and audio for public figures to use, they are increasingly turning to courts to protect their names and images from being plucked for commercial or wrong purposes.
From a personality rights point of view, a celebrity’s name, image, likeness and distinctive voice can be of great commercial and personal value. Law enforcement has come to realise that unauthorised use of these attributes can damage a person's reputation and interfere with their ability to commercialise their identity. The Delhi High Court has also extended the same protections to celebrities in recent years including Sonakshi Sinha, Varun Dhawan, Ravi Kishan and Jackie Shroff.
In Sonakshi Sinha’s case, for example, the court held defendants to stop using her name, voice, image and likeness through artificial intelligence-generated content, deepfakes, voice cloning and face morphing and ordered them to delete infringing URLs. Similar orders involving other public figures also illustrate the judiciary's increasing focus on protecting personality and publicity rights in the era of generative AI.
However, Tabu’s specific claim could not be independently verified from publicly available Delhi High Court records or reliable news reports at the time of writing. Details about the exact order, defendants and platforms involved should be treated cautiously until an official court order or credible report confirms them.
But regardless, the overall trend shows that entertainment is in trouble. AI-generated deepfakes can make fake endorsements, false interviews, altered photographs and fake videos of celebrities without their consent. Reputational damage is a big one and it gives third parties an opportunity to benefit financially from a celebrity’s name.
As artificial intelligence advances in terms of its capabilities, legal battles over celebrity personality rights will be more prevalent. The Delhi High Court has already shown in terms of several cases that unauthorised digital exploitation can constitute a matter of great concern if it could damage the dignity, reputation or commercial interests of a person.
The Tabu case, however, should be treated as unconfirmed until the specific court order becomes publicly available. The larger legal shift is clear: Indian courts are increasingly being asked to protect public figures from unauthorised AI-generated content and digital identity misuse.
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