The Bombay High Court (HC) on Wednesday issued instructions to immediately take down alleged defamatory AI-generated posts and video targeting Union Minister Nitin Gadkari over the Union Government’s E20 ethanol-blended policy, noting that the content was prima facie abusive and obscene. A bench of the HC, led by Justice Arif Doctor directed social media platforms and websites to take down all content identified by Gadkari in his civil suit, claiming that the material, on the face of it, was ‘vile, abusive and obscene.’

The court also ordered that any similar content identified by the Union Minister in the future be likewise removed without any delay.

HC questions social media platforms over content moderation

During the hearing, the HC questioned major social media platforms such as Meta, ‘X’ Corp and Google LLC, over the absence of an effective mechanism to remove abusive content without compelling affected people to seek judicial intervention.

Noting that such material had no space in the digital space, the court observed that it remained accessible to everyone, including young users and children.

The Bench remarked, “There has to be some mechanism where online platforms take down the content without the person having to approach the courts,” while urging intermediaries to voluntarily remove defamatory and abusive posts.

Gadkari alleges deepfakes falsely claimed his personal financial gains

Gadkari, who serves as the Union Minister for Highways and Road Transport, filed a civil suit against Meta, X Corp, Google LLC and several unidentified online content creators over alleged defamatory AI-generated deepfake videos and social media posts.

The suit mentions that the synthetic media falsely claimed that the minister and his family stood to benefit financially from the Centre’s E20 ethanol-blended petrol policy. Seeking immediate removal of such misleading content, Gadkari has also claimed Rs 11 crore in damages, alleging that the fabricated material has caused irreparable harm to his reputation and has violated his personality rights.

“E20 Policy falls under petroleum ministry”: Gadkari

Minister Gadkari, in his petition, maintained that the ethanol-blending programme is administered and monitored exclusively by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and not by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, which he heads.

He further mentioned in the suit that the legal action is aimed at holding major social media intermediaries accountable for hosting and allowing the circulation of defamatory-cum-fabricated content. The minister clarified that the proceedings are not aimed at restricting legitimate public discussion or criticism but at addressing the dissemination of false, AI-generated material that allegedly tarnishes the minister's reputation.

After passing the interim directions, the HC has listed the matter for further hearing after four weeks. The Bench directed all respondents, including the social media companies and the unidentified content creators, to file their affidavits in response to Gadkari's plea before the next date of hearing.