No matter whether they are the offspring of a famous person or a commoner, all children have the right to be treated with honor and respect, according to Justice C. Hari Shankar.
A number of YouTube channels have been prohibited by the Delhi High Court from sharing or continuing to transmit videos that make false claims about Aaradhya Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan’s 11-year-old granddaughter.
Bachchan requested that Justice C Hari Shankar issue notice prohibiting the YouTube channels and their affiliates from disseminating or continuing to transmit the videos mentioned in the plaint.
The videos that are the subject matter of the aforementioned URLs are the only videos that the defendants 1 through 9 are prohibited from producing, publishing, uploading, or disseminating. It is clarifiedIt is made clear that all videos that discuss the plaintiff’s physical condition would fall under this. Defendants are strictly forbidden from sharing information about the plaintiff’s mental or physical health on any platform accessible on the internet.
Additionally, Google was instructed to inform the Bachchans of the defendants’ identities and take immediate action to deactivate the URls mentioned in the plaint.
Google will take immediate action to remove any additional videos clip dealing with the plaintiff’s physical health and wellbeing that are brought to their attention by the plaintiff.
The Central Government was also ordered by the court to block access to all of the content as well as to any other videos or clips with content that is similar.
Further instructions were given to Google, the owner of YouTube, to detail its policy and demonstrate compliance with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines Digital Media ethics) Rules in order to demonstrate that it has changed its policy in order to comply with the amendment that was made.
“The court will need to assess whether its policies are adequate and compliant with the IT Rules. The single judge ruled that the D 10 has a legal obligation to ensure strict adherence to the entire statutory regime regarding the intermediaries that regulates it, which will include the IT Rules as amended in October 2022.
The court noted that although this was not the first instance of false information being spread about a celebrity, when it involved a child, it revealed a morbid perversity and total disregard for the child in question.
“Whether a child is the offspring of a famous person or a common person, all children have the right to be treated with honor and respect. It is completely illegal under the law to disseminate information about a child’s mental and physical health.
Aaradhya and Abhishek Bachchan petitioned the High Court to enjoin several YouTube channels and John Doe defendants (unknown people) from posting materials that disparage the Bachchan family name, reveal information about their personal lives, or are otherwise defamatory.
The Bachchans claimed that while searching YouTube, they came across several videos claiming that Aaradhya was seriously ill and had been admitted to the hospital. Even that she had passed away was implied in one of the videos. The videos also claimed that the Bachchans did nothing to get the child immediate medical care.
Aaradhya is in good health and has not been hospitalized, according to the plaint, which was filed.
Justice Shankar criticized the streaming service during the hearing for what he perceived as an oversight in upholding its duty by allowing such false information to be spread on its platform.
“You have a social responsibility if what you’re doing generates income. You can’t allow such thingYou admit that there are some things with which you can never put up. there are some things you have no tolerance for. Why shouldn’t this fit into that description? That indicates a flaw in your policy, the judge said.
The court added that the platform cannot claim that it is only acting as an intermediary and refrain from posting such videos.
“You are giving the public a means to be misinformed. It’s comparable to saying, according to the Times of India, “I’m just providing paper and ink; you can write whatever you want on the paper.” You are giving the public a platform on which false information is disseminated. How is this allowed?” the bench questioned.
It recommended that YouTube have a policy in place to deal with these videos.
“It is your duty to ensure that accurate information is spread. The bench questioned, “Why don’t you have a policy in situations like this?”
Aaradhya’s senior attorney Dayan Krishnan cited the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, which mandate that intermediaries exercise due diligence in identifying content that is harmful to children.
In the era of social media, he claimed, “a child has to suffer” because a public figure’s reputation has devolved into a game.
The videos, according to the plaint, violate the plaintiff’s right to privacy and damage the reputation of the Bachchan family.
The images of Aaradhya and her family members were also used to spread false information and make money, according to testimony given in court.
In one case, a corpse was created from the images.
The lawsuit claimed that despite receiving a court order requiring YouTube to remove these videos, the video-sharing website responded by saying that it does not take down content that has been posted there in response to defamation claims.
Additionally, YouTube stated that it can only release the contact information of those who upload illegal videos if a court order is obtained.
Therefore, 2 crores in damages were requested.
Aaradhya Bachchan and Amitabh Bachchan were represented by senior attorney Dayan Krishnan, along with attorneys Pravin Anand, Ameet Naik, Vaishali Mittal, Madhu Gadodia, Siddhant Chamola, Shivang Sharma, Hersh Desai, Pallavi Bhatnagar, Megha Chandra, Harsh Jha, Sujoy Mukherjee, and Tarini Kulkarni.
Advocate Mamta Rani Jha for Google.
.Written By- Tushar Vashisth students of 3rd year BBA LLB at Chandigarh University
