Indian court restrains YouTubers from posting rumours about health of Abhishek, Aishwarya Rai’s daughter Aaradhya

The Delhi High Court summoned YouTube officials, and owners of YouTube tabloids after Indian actors Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s daughter Aaradhya filed a plea against a channel for spreading fake news about her health.

The minor said YouTube channels have published fake news about her being “critically ill” and about her “death” and sought a restraining order against such reporting. The judge granted in her favour and said YouTube was also at fault for letting people access misinformation.

Like other star kids, 11-year-old Aaradhya is also often in the limelight as she has accompanied her parents to film events and festivals multiple times. She has been trolled for ridiculous reasons on social media, including her style of walking and for always holding her mother’s hand.

In 2021, Bachchan told Indian media that it is completely unacceptable for people to bash his daughter. “[It is] something that I will not tolerate. I’m a public figure that’s fine, my daughter is out of bounds. If you have anything to say, come and say it to my face.”

The Bachchans’ lawyers argued that these videos are false, fake, defamatory, and uploaded with the intent of gaining eyeballs and adding viewership and subscriptions to the channel.

The court has granted an order of injunction against the infringers and uploaders from posting any such videos which violate privacy and give false news about the child. The court has also directed Google and YouTube to give details of the infringers and if any misinformation news about the plaintiff comes to Google’s notice, it shall also be taken down.