YouTube quietly removes Bollywood AI videos amid Abhishek-Aishwarya court battle
What's the story
In a significant move, YouTube has removed hundreds of AI-generated videos featuring Bollywood actors amid celebrity couple Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's lawsuit regarding similar videos. The action was taken following a report by Reuters noted that the Google-owned platform housed multiple channels and videos that were similar to the ones that the Bachchans were objecting to. The videos in question reportedly racked up 16.5 million views before their removal.
Legal proceedings
Bachchans sought ban on AI videos violating intellectual property rights
The Bachchans had sought a ban on the creation of AI videos that violate their intellectual property rights. They also requested a review of YouTube's AI training policy. Despite a court order last month to remove several YouTube links, similar videos with inappropriate AI manipulations were still accessible, reported Reuters.
Policy apprehensions
Concerns over YouTube's content, 3rd-party training policy
The Bachchans have expressed concern over YouTube's content and third-party training policy. They argue that this policy allows users to consent to sharing their videos for training rival AI models, increasing the risk of misleading content online. Their legal filings state, "Such content being used to train AI models has the potential to multiply the instances of use of any infringing content."
Platform's action
YouTube confirmed removal of channel with 259 videos
YouTube confirmed the removal of a channel, AI-generated Bollywood love stories, mentioned in the report, which had 259 videos with 16.5 million views. The platform also told Reuters that another account, called AI Bollywood Ishq, was no longer working. YouTube stated that it deletes manipulated and misleading content. However, AI-generated videos depicting intimate scenarios with celebrity likenesses continue to emerge, leading the Bachchans to seek $4,50,000 in damages from Google and other parties involved.
Platform's reach
Lawsuits include hundreds of links, screenshots of 'egregious' content
YouTube is immensely popular in India, with around 600 million users. The platform is known for entertainment content like Bollywood videos. Their lawsuits include hundreds of links and screenshots of what they claim are YouTube videos showing "egregious," "sexually explicit," or "fictitious" AI content. Filmmaker Karan Johar and actor Nagarjuna have also moved the court in recent days to safeguard their personality rights.