NAVIGATING DEEPFAKES IN TORT LAW

Deepfake technology, which uses artificial intelligence to synthesize or manipulate audio and visual content, has emerged as a profound legal challenge in the contemporary digital landscape. This paper examines the intersection of deepfakes and Indian tort law, exploring how existing legal frameworks respond to the harms caused by deepfakes. The paper traces the evolution of deepfake technology from early computer-generated imagery to modern Generative Adversarial Networks, and looks the statutory landscape, including the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 and the Copyright Act, 1957. It finds that while these statutes offer partial remedies, they don’t directly or comprehensively address harms caused by deepfakes. The paper then analyses how established torts in India such as defamation, intimidation, malicious falsehood, deceit, and passing off can be applied to deepfake-related injuries, drawing on Indian case law such as Anil Kapoor v. Simply Life India, Amitabh Bachchan v. Rajat Negi, Ankur Warikoo v. John Doe etc. It further looks as consumer protection concerns relating to deepfakes under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. The paper concludes that India’s existing tort law is inadequate to address the novel threats posed by deepfakes and calls for judicial recognition of a distinct deepfake tort, targeted statutory amendments to the Consumer Protection Act and the establishment of a specialized adjudicatory body equipped with both legal and technical expertise.