Synthetic Faces, Real Disrepute: Deepfake and the Quest to Safeguard Celebrity Rights and Reputation

Abstract

Deepfake, the technology which once belonged to the science fiction, has now emerged as a legal dilemma, threatening identity and reputation of the individuals, by stealing unique characteristics like face, voice etc, with just a click. This synthetic performance created by neural networks has redefined the boundaries of digital manipulation, as they generate digital imitation by using real footage or existing performance of a person. Deepfakes can be used for various innocuous purposes such as for creating parodies, create more engaging content, convert the content into multiple languages and generate such content that is easily accessible to the differently abled (Pavis, 2021). But the latest and most common use of the technology has got reduced to various malicious purposes such as stealing someone's identity and spreading misinformation. Amidst these systematic realities, one of the most concerning legal infringements is the violation of Right to Reputation, which is an integral part of Article 21 of the Constitution, which was also reaffirmed in the case of Subramanian Swamy v. Union of India (2016) 7 SCC 221. This aspect becomes more alarming when it is narrowed down to the context of celebrities owing to their heightened public visibility, economic value attached to their persona and their abundant digital presence. For instance, the global cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar in 2024 fell prey to the use of this technology as a video of him promoting an online gaming app went viral. To worsen the situation, in that deepfake video he suggested that his daughter Sara Tendulkar, also a popular social media figure, had earned Rs. 1.8 lakh per day making predictions on that gaming app. Considering his large fanbase, not only was he subjected to cyber bullying due to promotion of such illegal app, hampering his reputation, but also due to such identity fraud, his audience was at a high risk too of believing him and registering on such suspicious application. Such identity fraud does not only violate technology laws, but it also infringes personality rights by unauthorized use of personal attributes like name, voice etc. 

This paper scrutinizes the vicious insinuation of deepfakes on the reputation of celebrities and also examines how various other rights such as right to sexual privacy, publicity and personality are hampered. It also aims to align the concept of individual identity evolving from John Locke’s Theory of Identity and other relevant theories, amidst contemporary technological advancements. Lastly, it also comes up with certain recommendations to combat the existing challenges and balance celebrity rights against malicious usage of deepfake models, while preserving and upholding the constitutional values and morality.