ISLAMABAD: An Indian court criticized YouTube while hearing a petition brought by Aaradhya Bachchan, the 11-year-old granddaughter of Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan.
Bachchan claimed that a YouTube channel spread false information about her “life and health,” and she requested a restraining order against such reporting. A Delhi high court judge agreed, adding that YouTube was equally to blame for allowing people to acquire misinformation. In India, Bachchan is the center of intense media attention.
She is the daughter of actors Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and is frequently pictured with them at film festivals and other public events.
Aishwarya is a former Miss World who has appeared on several international talk shows including David Letterman and the Oprah Winfrey Show. Abhishek, the son of legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan, informed the media in 2021 that he would not allow unpleasant remarks about his daughter made by trolls. He said he is a public person, but his daughter is not.
On Thursday, the court directed YouTube to remove the videos immediately. It also served a summon on YouTube and administrators of certain a channel named in the petition. He said dissemination of misleading information to a child, especially as regards physical and mental health, is completely intolerable by law.
There are a lot of YouTube channels in India that try to aim at the increased demand for celebrity news; typically, the content is shocking or controversial, with little regard for facts. Several Indian celebrities have also expressed worries about the paparazzi invading their privacy and frequently photographing them.
