The Delhi High Court, in an order passed on December 12, 2025, has directed major social media intermediaries including Meta, Google, and X to address complaints filed by Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and renowned actor Pawan Kalyan concerning violations of his personality rights. Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora instructed the platforms to treat the matter as a formal grievance under the Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, and resolve specific infringements within seven days.

Pawan Kalyan's lawsuit highlights unauthorised exploitation of his persona, encompassing photographs, videos, name, voice, and likeness for commercial purposes without consent. Particular concerns were raised regarding artificial intelligence-generated videos circulating on Google platforms, impersonations, fake endorsements, and manipulated content on Meta and e-commerce sites, which undermine his publicity rights and reputation.

Senior Advocate J Sai Deepak, representing Kalyan, informed the court that prior complaints to the intermediaries had yielded inadequate responses, leaving much of the offending material online despite adherence to precedents set in similar cases involving actor Ajay Devgn. The court mandated Kalyan to furnish detailed URLs and information about the infringing links to the platforms within 48 hours to facilitate prompt action.

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The intermediaries have been permitted to communicate any reservations directly to the plaintiff if needed. The matter has been scheduled for further hearing on December 22, 2025, allowing time for compliance while monitoring progress.

This development aligns with a growing trend of prominent Indian figures seeking judicial safeguards against digital misuse of their identity. Precedents include protective orders granted to actors such as Chiranjeevi, Akkineni Nagarjuna, Salman Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and others, reflecting heightened judicial scrutiny over personality rights in the era of AI-driven deepfakes and online exploitation.

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