Delhi High Court stated that targeting minors with counterfeit content and fake news is indicative of morbid perversity...
Digital Desk: Aaradhya Bachchan now aged 11, the daughter of actors Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, filed a lawsuit against a YouTube channel for wilfully disseminating false information about her health on Thursday. The case was heard by the Delhi High Court.
According to the Delhi High Court, it is illegal to provide children with false information about their physical and mental health.
The court further restricted the YouTube channels from posting or disseminating any films that were identical to or similar in content to those that were the subject of the aforementioned lawsuit.
The granddaughter of Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan, Aaradhaya Bachchan, sued the YouTube tabloid for releasing a fraudulent video news report on her health and everyday activities. She has requested an injunction to stop such reporting since she is a minor.
The petition also asked eleven organisations to take her off their lists and take down all of their films about her. Google and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology's complaints cell are other participants in the litigation. "This court is aware of the pictures and videos. While false material about celebrities has been spread before, the bench stated that when it comes to children, it "reflects a harmful perversity on the part of those distributing in full apathy to the interests of child.
According to the petition submitted by the law firm Anand and Naik, "The defendants' sole motivation is to unlawfully profit from the reputation of the Bachchan family, regardless of the damage-causing to the plaintiffs and their family members." The court stated that it is intolerable that the YouTube channel released Aaradhaya photos and movies for the sole purpose of increasing their popularity. The Court further declared that YouTube is a business platform and does not operate for charitable purposes.
Pursuant to Aaradhya Bachchan's plea in the Delhi High Court, the defendant entities' videos used images of the plaintiffs (Aaradhya and Abhishek Bachchan) and other members of the Bachchan family to proclaim that Aaradhya is severely ill, has been admitted to the hospital, or has died.
According to the claim, Aaradhya was actively participating in public events with her mother at the time the films were made or uploaded and was in perfect health. She has never been hospitalised either.
"The plea has been filed on account of the violation of Aaradhya's right to privacy, who is a minor child of only 11 years old, and whose mental and physical well-being stands to suffer grave harm if such videos and content remain accessible to the public," the petition stated.
The lawyer further stated that YouTube has already provided the URLs for the videos, and that the films in question will be delisted. During the hearing, Justice Shankar also chastised YouTube for allowing such fraudulent and deceptive content on its platform and questioned the company about its stance on the subject.
"You are providing a facility to misinform the public," Justice Shankar noted. "How can this be tolerated?" the judge said. The court, in a stinging rebuke to YouTube, wondered how the platform's regulations could allow content that implies a kid is dead when she is still alive.
Dayan Krishnan, Aaradhya Bacchan's lawyer, stated: "In the age of social media, the reputation of a public person has become a child's play, and here a child has to suffer." He cited Rule 3 (1) b of the Information Technology Rules, which provides for due diligence on the part of intermediaries pertaining to content harmful to children.
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