Aishwarya Rai, Abhishek Bachchan make big move, seek Rs 4 crore in damages from…, reason is…

Bollywood couple Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai have approached the Delhi High Court with lawsuits against YouTube and Google over AI-generated deepfake videos. According to a report by Reuters, they are seeking $450,000 (nearly ₹4 crore) in damages and demanded a permanent order to prevent YouTube from using any content that misuses their names, voices or images.

Aishwarya Rai, Abhishek Bachchan file lawsuit against YouTube over explicit deepfakes

According to legal papers accessed by Reuters, the suit challenges “egregious”, “sexually explicit,” or “fictitious” AI-generated content. The Bachchans assert that YouTube must implement strict rules to prevent AI from exploiting their names, voices or likenesses. Also, they have expressed concern over YouTube’s content policies and its rules for third-party AI training.

In this petition, the actors stated, “Such content being used to train AI models has the potential to multiply the instances of use of any infringing content i.e. first being uploaded on YouTube being viewed by the public, and then also being used to train.”

The report also notes that a YouTube channel titled “AI Bollywood Ishq” shares AI-generated Bollywood love stories. The channel has uploaded about 259 videos and has garnered over 16.5 million views. One video allegedly shows Salman and Aishwarya in a pool, while another depicts Abhishek suddenly kissing an actress or misbehaving in fabricated scenes involving his wife.

The Delhi High Court, which conducted the hearing last month, asked Google’s legal counsel to file written responses before the next hearing on January 15.

Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai on the work front

Abhishek Bachchan was last featured in Madhumita’s Kaalidhar Laapata. He is set to be seen next in Siddharth Anand’s King alongside Shah Rukh Khan, Suhana Khan, and among others. Aishwarya Rai, on other hand, was last seen in Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan: II (2023). Since then, there has been no further announcements about her upcoming projects.