Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has directed Meta, X and Google to immediately remove social media posts targeting Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, calling them “vile, abusive, obscene and defamatory.”
The order came while hearing Gadkari’s civil defamation suit over AI-generated deepfake videos and manipulated posts alleging that he and his family received illegal financial benefits from the Centre’s ethanol-blended petrol policy.
Justice Arif Doctor observed, “These posts, on the face of it, are abusive, vile, and obscene,” adding, “The material on the face of it is absolutely vile and abusive. Such material should have no place on a public platform, which is accessible to everyone, including the younger generation.”
The court also questioned whether online platforms have mechanisms to remove such content without victims approaching the court. It said the platforms should voluntarily take down such posts and asked them to act promptly if similar content appears in the future.
The matter has been listed for further hearing after four weeks.
