Bollywood Stars Sue Google Over AI Deepfakes, Seek Protection for “Personality Rights

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India’s most famous celebrity couple, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, have taken legal action against Google’s YouTube, demanding stronger protections for their voice, image, and likeness in the age of artificial intelligence.

The Bachchans filed lawsuits in the Delhi High Court seeking removal of AI-generated videos that use their likeness without consent and asking the court to require Google to implement safeguards to prevent such YouTube videos from being used to train other AI platforms.

The filings, reviewed by Reuters, argue that YouTube’s data and AI-sharing policies allow creators to consent to third-party use of uploaded content for AI training, which could cause widespread replication of infringing or misleading material.

“Such content being used to train AI models has the potential to multiply the instances of use of any infringing content,” the filings stated.

INDIA’S ‘PERSONALITY RIGHTS’ GAP

India has no explicit law protecting personality rights — the legal ownership of one’s image, name, and voice — unlike the United States. But Bollywood stars have increasingly turned to courts for relief as AI-generated deepfakes spread across social media.

In 2023, a Delhi court barred the unauthorized use of actor Anil Kapoor’s voice, image, and catchphrases. The Bachchans’ case, however, marks the most high-profile clash yet between Bollywood and big tech over AI exploitation.

The lawsuits accuse YouTube of hosting “egregious,” “sexually explicit,” and “fictitious” AI videos depicting the couple in fabricated scenarios — such as Abhishek kissing another actress, or Aishwarya dining with ex-boyfriend Salman Khan while Abhishek fumes nearby.

The court has already ordered the removal of 518 infringing links and posts, ruling that they harmed the couple’s reputation and caused financial damage. Yet similar videos remain visible on YouTube, Reuters found.

GOOGLE UNDER PRESSURE

The Bachchans are seeking $450,000 in damages and a permanent injunction against further misuse. Their legal team argues that YouTube’s data-sharing policy, which lets users opt to share videos for AI training with firms like OpenAI, Meta, or xAI, enables the spread of harmful deepfakes.

Legal experts say the couple’s case will test how far Indian courts are willing to hold tech platforms accountable.

“It wouldn’t be beyond the pale for the court to nudge YouTube to revise its user policies or create a fast-track system for celebrity complaints,” said Eashan Ghosh, an intellectual property professor at National Law University Delhi.

AI AND BOLLYWOOD COLLIDE

YouTube’s AI ecosystem in India is massive — the company says it has paid $2.4 billion to Indian creators in the last three years, and its 600 million users make it YouTube’s largest market. Some creators now profit by posting AI-generated Bollywood content.

A YouTube channel called “AI Bollywood Ishq” has posted 259 videos with 16.5 million views, showing AI-generated “love stories” starring Bollywood lookalikes. One popular video features Aishwarya Rai and Salman Khan in a swimming pool; another shows Abhishek Bachchan fighting Khan.

The channel claims to use Grok AI and Chinese startup MiniMax’s Hailuo AI to generate videos from simple text prompts. Its page states:

“Content is made only for entertainment and creative storytelling.”

The Delhi High Court has ordered Google to submit written responses before the next hearing on January 15, 2026.

Apple and OpenAI Seek Dismissal of Elon Musk’s Antitrust Lawsuit

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Apple and OpenAI have jointly asked a U.S. judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Elon Musk’s xAI, which accuses the two companies of engaging in anticompetitive behavior through their AI partnership.

The lawsuit, filed in August, alleges that Apple’s deal with OpenAI — which integrates ChatGPT into iPhones, iPads, and Macs — is “exclusive” and unfairly limits competition by sidelining Musk’s X platform and its Grok chatbot.

APPLE AND OPENAI REJECT CLAIMS OF MONOPOLY

In court filings on Tuesday, Apple’s lawyers stated that the company’s deal with OpenAI is not exclusive and does not restrict competition in any way.

“Apple and OpenAI’s agreement is expressly not exclusive, and it is public and widely known that Apple intends to partner with other generative AI chatbots,” Apple’s filing said.

OpenAI echoed this argument, accusing Musk of engaging in a “campaign of lawfare” — using lawsuits to attack competitors — and said xAI had failed to demonstrate any concrete harm.

“Musk’s claims are purely speculative,” OpenAI’s attorneys wrote. “xAI has not alleged any direct or anticompetitive harm resulting from ChatGPT’s integration as an option on certain iPhones.”

BACKGROUND OF THE DISPUTE

Apple and OpenAI’s collaboration, announced in June 2024, made ChatGPT accessible across Apple’s ecosystem, allowing users to access the chatbot through Siri and other built-in applications.

Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 as a nonprofit before it transitioned into a for-profit structure under CEO Sam Altman, has since become one of its harshest critics. He argues that OpenAI has abandoned its original mission of open and safe AI development.

Musk’s company xAI, launched in 2023, operates the Grok chatbot integrated into his social media platform X (formerly Twitter). xAI’s lawsuit seeks billions in damages, claiming Apple’s partnership with OpenAI harms fair market competition.

Musk is also pursuing a separate lawsuit against OpenAI and Altman in California federal court, seeking to reverse the company’s for-profit conversion.

xAI has not yet responded publicly to Apple and OpenAI’s latest motion for dismissal.

Amazon’s AWS Partners with NBA to Power New AI Basketball Platform

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Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud computing arm of Amazon.com, has signed a multi-year partnership with the National Basketball Association (NBA) to create AI-driven features, analytics, and fan experiences across the league’s digital platforms.

The collaboration, announced on Wednesday, will debut “NBA Inside the Game”, a new AI-powered platform designed to transform in-game data into interactive insights for fans, teams, and broadcasters. The deal’s financial terms were not disclosed.

A NEW ERA OF DATA-DRIVEN BASKETBALL

The NBA’s new system will leverage AWS’s machine learning and data processing tools to analyze real-time game statistics and produce advanced visualizations. The features will appear across live broadcasts, the NBA App, the league’s official website, and social media channels, providing deeper, faster, and more personalized insights into gameplay.

Fans will be able to see advanced statistics — such as defensive positioning, shot success probabilities, and team strategy analytics — generated instantly by AI models trained on player and game data.

Teams will also gain access to the data, enabling them to review matches, adjust strategies, and identify player performance trends.

“Whenever we build a statistic, there is always input from our teams,” said Ken DeGennaro, the NBA’s Head of Media Operations and Technology. “We want to ensure that these services not only engage fans but also help our teams improve their on-court strategies.”

AI’S GROWING PRESENCE IN SPORTS

The partnership reflects a broader trend in global sports toward AI integration, where leagues increasingly partner with tech giants to enhance both fan engagement and team performance.

Earlier this year, Microsoft signed a five-year deal with the English Premier League to embed its AI Copilot technology into the league’s digital ecosystem, illustrating how artificial intelligence is reshaping the business of sports.

For AWS, the deal strengthens its expanding presence in sports analytics — a field where its technology already powers insights for organizations like Formula 1, the NFL, and Bundesliga.

As part of the NBA collaboration, AWS will handle data collection, analysis, and visualization in real time, helping redefine how fans experience basketball and how coaches and players analyze it.