Court orders removal of deepfake videos of National Stock Exchange director

The Bombay High Court has directed social media mediators to take swift action against alleged deepfake videos of NSE general manager and the CEO who makes stock recommendations.

A single bench of Justice R I Chagla, in its July 16 order, also directed social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram to remove or wipe out all accounts infringing the trademark of NSE (National Stock Exchange of India Limited).

“The balance of convenience also lies in favour of the plaintiff (NSE) and irreparable loss and/or damage will be caused to the plaintiff unless the ad-interim (temporary) relief sought is granted,” the HC said.

The court has directed the social media platforms to remove or delete the content within ten hours of receiving a complaint about such manipulated videos and profiles infringing the plaintiff’s trademark.

The court said that under information technology rules, social media companies are required to take expeditious action on complaints from entities like NSE about unauthorized use of their trademark on questionable “web pages and/or profiles, accounts and/or advertisements and/or videos and/or content and/or social media groups”.

The NSE had approached the HC alleging that the platforms contained a fabricated video of managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) Ashishkumar Chauhan dishing out investment and stock tips. The video was allegedly generated using advanced AI (artificial intelligence) technology to imitate his voice and facial expressions.

The NSE sought an order directing the platforms to take down and remove the unauthorized videos.

The NSE further alleged that some perpetrators allegedly used the organisation’s trademark and spread false and misleading advertisements on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

The NSE indicated in its petition that it had also filed a complaint with the cyber police in April of this year.

Lead advocate Birendra Saraf, representing the NSE, told the court that despite filing a complaint with the social media brokers’ complaints department, no action has been taken against such deepfake videos and the videos infringing on the trademark.

According to Saraf, this misleading behaviour by the offenders can manipulate the markets, thereby leading to unfair trading practices and violation of various rules laid down by the market regulator SEBI (Security Exchange Board of India) from time to time.

Justice Chagla said that NSE had built up a “strong prima facie case” for granting ad interim relief not only against the intermediaries but also against the unknown perpetrators for violating its rights.

The High Court has restrained any person from infringing the plaintiff’s registered trademark “NSE”.

The court directed the intermediaries to file their affidavits under oath giving details of all such accounts and the persons operating those accounts and who were involved in publishing the fake videos and content similar to fake videos or in using the registered trademark of the stock exchange, “NSE”.

The affidavits must be filed within three weeks, the court said. The case was listed for further hearing on August 19.

The court noted in its ruling that the alleged deepfake videos show the NSE’s director and CEO advising viewers to join a WhatsApp community where the company allegedly recommends stocks.

The videos further ensure that the plaintiff fully reimburses investors for the losses incurred by executing the proposed transactions with due care, the court said.

Published on:

July 21, 2024