Mumbai, August 6: A Mumbai court has requested information from social media platforms Meta and X Corp regarding the uploaders of deepfake videos related to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari’s E20 ethanol blending policy. The court also directed the immediate removal of the objectionable content.
Sandeep S. Ladda, the lawyer representing Gadkari, spoke to a news agency about the proceedings. He stated, “Union Minister Nitin Gadkari sought permission from the Bombay High Court. Following this, a hearing took place before Justice Arif regarding the defamation case. After listening to our arguments and reviewing the content, Justice Arif inquired how such content could remain on their platforms.”
Ladda explained, “The court was shown misleading videos and posts related to the E20 policy. We presented several images and content to the court. After reviewing them, the court asked the lawyers representing Meta how such content could persist on their platform. The case filed by the Union Minister was heard, with lawyers from Meta (which operates Facebook and Instagram) and X Corp (formerly Twitter) present in court. We informed the court about the defamatory content related to the E20 ethanol blending policy and explained why these claims were defamatory.”
The court initially deemed the content to be defamatory. Ladda noted, “The court preliminarily recognized the content as defamatory and questioned Meta and other platforms about the lack of an effective system to address such issues. We highlighted that social media platforms are easily misused to harm individuals’ reputations, while there are no adequate systems in place to prevent such misuse.”
The court instructed Meta and other platforms, “Considering that the content related to E20 appears to be deepfake and defamatory, the court ordered the platforms to disclose the identities of those who uploaded the content and to remove it immediately.”
The lawyer added, “The court also directed the removal of any similar content uploaded after the lawsuit was filed.”
During the hearing, the platforms requested three weeks to respond, which the court granted. Ladda mentioned, “They requested three weeks, and the court approved it. We also urged that any further defamatory content be prevented from being uploaded.”
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