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Technology

Mumbai HC directs Meta, X, Google to remove abusive and AI-generated posts on Nitin Gadkari

hellohimachalse@gmail.com 05 Aug 2026 2 days ago

New Delhi: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday ordered social media platforms to immediately remove allegedly defamatory, abusive and obscene posts targeting Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. The court stated that such material belongs on private platforms, and shouldn’t be available, especially for younger audiences.

The Justice Arif Doctor directed Meta, X Corp and Google LLC to pull down the identified posts immediately after hearing Gadkari’s plea. The court also asked whether there are systems in place to identify and remove abusive content before it can affect individuals without them needing to resort to legal action. The issue will be taken up again after four weeks, PTI reports.

Court questions platforms over content moderation

The posts were “vile, abusive, obscene and defamatory” on their face, Justice Doctor said. The court stated that such content should be identified and removed from online platforms by available technology before court orders are issued, particularly using AI-generated deepfakes.

The High Court also said that in case such posts are uploaded again in future, then the High Court will “direct platforms to take immediate action” as Gadkari can approach the platforms directly. The next hearing is set for when the respondents are required to return with their replies.

Gadkari seeks Rs 11 crore in damages

Gadkari went to the High Court last week to petition for the deletion of fake and AI-generated posts in relation to the ethanol-blended fuel policy. He has also asked for an injunction to permanently ban their circulation and Rs 11 crore in damages.

Gadkari said in his petition that there were some people who had tarnished his image as well as the image of his family in the ethanol programme as they had made certain statements on that issue which were not correct. The plea explained that the ethanol blending programme is under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and not under his control. The petition said the posts were false and malicious, and went beyond the bounds of “lawful free speech,” though it welcomed “legitimate criticism.

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