Delhi High Court questions Meta over copyright misuse on Instagram

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday questioned Meta over the potential misuse of Instagram's 'remix' feature to violate copyright, while hearing a suit by educator Vikas Divyakirti seeking protection of his personality and copyright rights. Divyakirti, founder of Drishti IAS coaching centre, alleged that his lectures were selectively used to portray him as Hindu-phobic and anti-Brahmin, and his image was used in deepfake videos, including for a betting advertisement. Senior advocate Diya Kapur, appearing for Divyakirti, accused social media platforms of 'playing God' by suspending accounts based on arbitrary decisions without verifying copyright complaints.

Meta's advocate Varun Pathak argued that expecting constant monitoring by intermediaries was not feasible, and said remedies under the IT Act were available. The court observed that copyright strikes often have unfair consequences, with fake strikes succeeding immediately while the affected party faces a lengthy restoration process. Separately, the National Human Rights Commission has issued notices to Meta India, the Ministry of Electronics and IT, and local authorities in Etah over videos featuring children from a coaching centre that contained anti-Modi slogans and references to 'vote chori'. The NHRC has asked for action taken reports within two weeks and directed the identification of adults involved in producing the videos.