Delhi High Court Passes John Doe Order Restraining Circulation Of Deepfake Videos Of YouTuber Ankur Warikoo

The Delhi High Court has passed a john doe order and restrained unauthorised publishing and circulation of deepfake videos of YouTuber and influencer Ankur Warikoo. Justice Amit Bansal said that there shall be no direct or indirect misuse of Warikoo's name, image, photos, videos, voice or any other aspects of his persona for any illegal commercial or personal gain in any manner, including through the use of Artificial Intelligence or deepfake technology. The Court also ordered removal of accounts, videos, photos, text, content, social media groups and channels or deepfake videos published on Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp within 36 hours. “In case the plaintiffs, during the pendency of the present suit, discover any more false, fabricated and/ or deep fake content not originating from or associated with the plaintiffs, the plaintiffs shall be at liberty to approach the defendant no.2 requesting them to block/ take down, within 36 hours, any such post/ image/ video/ text/ or any other deep fake content, which is published on its platforms or utilizing its platforms,” the Court said. The Court passed the ex parte ad interim injunction in favour of Warikoo in the suit filed by him seeking permanent injunction restraining the unknown entities from infringing his personality and publicity rights.It was Warikoo's case that he began his journey as a content creator, particularly in the fields of personal finance, career management and personal growth and currently has over 15.1 million followers across various social media platforms.It was submitted that various unidentifiable third-parties were creating and publishing the infringing content in the form of deepfakes featuring Warikoo giving investment advice and asking he viewers to join a WhatsApp group for more such tips on stocks that would skyrocket in the upcoming days.It was submitted that deepfakes were designed to trap innocent investors and unsuspecting followers into joining suspicious WhatsApp groups, wherein the participants were asked to make risky trades and investments by putting money into unknown and suspicious digital applications or accounts.Warikoo was also aggrieved by various instagram handles circulating similar deepfake videos. It was submitted that there were many innocent investors who had already lost their money believing that it was Warikoo in the deepfakes. The Court said that a prima facie case was made out in favour of Warikoo and against the defendant unknown entities and that balance of convenience was also in favour of the former. “Irreparable loss, harm and injury would be caused to the plaintiffs in the defendant no.1 are allowed to continue publishing/ circulating the aforesaid deep fake contents,” the Court said. The matter will now be heard on October 08.Title: ANKUR WARIKOO & ANR v. JOHN DOE & ORS.Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 628Click here to read order

Delhi High Court Passes John Doe Order Restraining Circulation Of Deepfake Videos Of YouTuber Ankur Warikoo

Nupur Thapliyal

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