India
oi-Swastika Sruti
In one of the latest developments, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways – Nitin Gadkari got permission from Bombay High Court to file a civil defamation suit against social media platforms and unidentified individuals accused of spreading false claims about him and his family.
Bombay High Court permitted Union Minister Nitin Gadkari to file a civil defamation suit against social media platforms like Meta, X, and Google over false claims linking him to financial gains from the E20 ethanol initiative.
There exists allegations that the E20 ethanol-blended petrol programme is linked to his financial gains to which he has strongly denied.
What Is the Case About?
Nitin Gadkari approached the Bombay High Court claiming that several posts and videos, deepfake clips and images are circulating with false claims that he and his family have benefitted financially from the government’s Ethanol initiative.
In his petition he claims that the content is misleading, defamatory and intended to damage his public image. Gadkari argued that the campaign is based on false information and is designed to create confusion among the public.
The High Court has now allowed him to initiate a civil suit against Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram, X, Google, as well as unidentified individuals or pages allegedly involved in creating and spreading the content.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) have also been named as respondents in the matter.
Removal of Deepfake Content Sought
However the civil suit seeks the immediate removal of AI generated deepfake videos, edited clips, images and social media posts that allegedly make false allegations on Gadkari.
The petition also requests the court to direct those responsible for creating, publishing and circulating the content to stop further dissemination of the material. The Bombay High Court has granted permission for the civil suit to proceed. However, Gadkari’s request for interim relief, including immediate directions against the content, will be considered during the next stage of the legal proceedings.
What Is the E20 Initiative?
To all unknown about the Ethanol initiative, it is an – Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme where petrol is blended with 20 per cent ethanol to reduce dependence on imported crude oil, cut vehicle emissions and support domestic ethanol production.
The initiative is overseen by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and aims to improve India’s energy security while providing additional income opportunities for farmers through increased demand for ethanol.
