Relevance: GS II (Polity – Rights) & GS III (AI & Ethics) | Source: The Hindu / Live Law

1. The Human Context: Who Owns Your Voice?

Imagine waking up to find “you” selling a product you never touched. This is the battle actor Salman Khan is fighting in the Delhi High Court.

  • The Conflict: An AI platform is cloning his voice and face to sell things. It’s not just about a star; it’s about a scary question for everyone: Can a machine hijack your identity?
  • The Tactic: Khan’s team used a “John Doe” order (known as Ashok Kumar order in India). It’s a legal weapon used when you don’t know exactly who the enemy is—allowing courts to block “unknown” entities hiding behind digital masks.

2. My Face, My Property (The Law)

In India, we don’t have a single “Personality Rights Act,” but the courts protect you using two shields:

  1. Right to Privacy (Article 21): Your face, voice, and mannerisms are part of who you are. Stealing them violates your fundamental Right to Life (K.S. Puttaswamy case).
  2. Right to Livelihood (Article 19): For a celebrity, their fame is their “property.” Using it without paying is theft (commercial exploitation).

3. The Gap: Speed of AI vs. Speed of Law

  • The Problem: Laws like the IT Rules (2021) are playing catch-up. A “Deepfake” can be made in seconds, but a lawsuit takes years.
  • The Risk: It’s not just about actors. If AI can mimic a star, it can mimic you—to defraud your bank or harass your family. The courts are currently the only barrier stopping this “Identity Theft.”

UPSC Value Box

Concept / TermRelevance for Prelims
Personality RightsThe right to control the commercial use of your identity (name, voice, image). It has two parts: Right of Publicity (Money) and Right to Privacy (Dignity).
John Doe OrderA court order against anonymous offenders. In India, it is often called an “Ashok Kumar Order.” It is essential for fighting online leaks, piracy, or anonymous defamation.
DeepfakeSynthetic media where a person in an existing image or video is replaced with someone else’s likeness using Generative AI.

Q. With reference to “Personality Rights” in the Indian legal context, consider the following statements:

  1. Personality rights are explicitly defined and protected under a specific statute known as the Personality Rights Act, 2020.
  2. The “Right of Publicity,” a component of personality rights, allows an individual to control the commercial use of their identity.
  3. The Supreme Court’s judgment in K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India reinforced the link between personality rights and the fundamental Right to Privacy.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only                   (b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only        (d) 1, 2 and 3

Correct Answer: (b)

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