Explained: How Aaradhya Bachchan moving the Court against false content on her needs to be lauded

Recently, Amitabh Bachchan’s granddaughter and Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s daughter Aaradhya Bachchan moved the Delhi High Court over false content on YouTube against her. The court, while dealing with a lawsuit by the minor child and her father, directed Google to take down from its platform certain videos which claimed that Aaradhya Bachchan was “critically ill” and “no more”.

The Delhi High Court’s order

The Delhi High Court on Thursday restrained several YouTube channels from publishing misleading content on the health of Aaradhya Bachchan, daughter of actors Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, saying  spreading misinformation about a child reflects “morbid perversity”.

The court, while dealing with a lawsuit by the minor child and her father, directed Google to take down from its platform certain videos which claimed that Aaradhya Bachchan was “critically ill” and “no more”.

Justice C Hari Shankar said every child is entitled to be treated with honour and respect and dissemination of misleading information in respect of a child’s health was “completely intolerable in law”.

The court, in the interim order, asked Google to inform the plaintiff about the details of the uploaders in question and clarified that similar videos, whenever brought to Google’s notice, shall also be taken down.

“Defendants 1 to 9 (YouTube channels) are completely restrained from publishing, sharing and disseminating any content on any public platform across the net relating the state of health or physical condition of the plaintiff,” ordered the court.

“Defendant no 10 (Google) will immediately delist and deactivate all videos mentioned in the plea,” it said.

The court further asked Google to file a response stating in detail its policy on dealing with such objectionable content on its YouTube platform in view of intermediary rules.

Why this move is necessary and laudable

Celebrities have been victims of fake news and vicious trolling since the dawn of time for views and traction, and creepy attention. Given how anyone has access to social media and Internet, any puerile and poisonous stuff can be written, printed, documented about them that can go viral in no seconds. By moving the Court, Bachchan should pave way for other actors and sons and daughters of stars still tolerating vicious content against them, both on professional and personal turf.

With inputs from agencies

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