Court orders takedown of Punjab cop's 'sex-for-cash' audio clip from social media

In a blanket order to various social media platforms and the media, a Court in Punjab's Ludhiana district recently ordered the removal of videos, tweets and other content about a viral audio-call recording in which a senior police officer was purportedly heard seeking sexual services from a woman..Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMIC) Vibha Rana further ordered Meta (which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp), YouTube, X Corp (formerly Twitter) and other digital media platforms to ensure that no similar content or publication is allowed to be uploaded. A general direction was also issued to the members of the public to not circulate the content. The directions were issued after the judge found substance in concerns that the audio clips were unverified and could have been digitally manipulated or even AI-generated.“The In-charge, State Cyber Crime Division, Mohali, is hereby directed to take immediate steps to implement and monitor compliance with this order. The intermediary platforms are further directed to comply with Rule 3 of the IT Rules, 2021 and Section 90 of the BNSS, 2023,” the Court ordered on April 7.Since then, some of the posts have been taken down by social media platforms..The judge passed the order on an application moved by a social activist, Devinder Singh Kalra (applicant), under Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines And Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules And Section 90 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS). Kalra claimed that the call recording contained “AI-generated impersonated/ voice cloned audio and visuals” targeting law enforcement personnel and capable of creating disturbing public order and undermining the institutional integrity of the police force..The Court opined that the manner in which the audio has been presented in the viral videos - “without any disclosure of source, authentication, or official verification, combined with its uniform pitch, mechanical tone, and lack of natural conversational cadence” - supported Kalra’s claim that the audio was likely to have been generated by artificial intelligence (AI). “This Court is cognizant of the growing concern around the misuse of publicly available artificial intelligence tools, such as Resemble.AI, ElevenLabs, and Descript, which can clone human voices with high precision. The features of the audio clip as heard in the impugned content bear the typical signs of voice synthesis: absence of tonal variation, disconnected phrasing, and speech uniformity inconsistent with natural human interaction. In light of these attributes, and in absence of any credible attribution or legal authentication, this Court draws a reasonable inference that the content is digitally manipulated with the intent to mislead,” the judge said..The Court added that it was inclined to accept the argument that such content, being prima facie defamatory and impersonative in nature, does not fall within the scope of protected speech or public interest journalism.“Rather, it constitutes targeted and unauthenticated character assassination, warranting judicial intervention to prevent further dissemination and to safeguard the dignity of public institutions and societal peace,” it said. The dissemination of such unverified content on social media platforms serves no public interest and appears to be driven more by malice and the pursuit of sensationalism than any genuine news value, the Court further remarked.“Rather than performing a legitimate public function, these videos publicly ridicule and undermine the dignity of the person concerned, while also damaging the morale of police personnel / law enforcement agencies in general,” it added..The Court even went on to remark that since some of the channels which circulated the audio clips operated from outside India, such unchecked dissemination could pose a grave threat to national integrity. “Further, upon perusal of the submitted YouTube links and associated metadata, it appears that some of the channels/accounts involved in the circulation of the impugned content are hosted or registered outside India. The operation of such platforms or handlers from foreign jurisdictions, who are not directly subject to Indian accountability standards, creates a regulatory vacuum and poses a grave threat to national integrity and public law and order. This unchecked dissemination of unauthentic, manipulated, or defamatory content through extraterritorial sources can cause public unrest and disturb societal peace, especially when there exists no reliable mechanism to verify or prevent such actions under domestic law," the order said. .The Court further said that the propagation of such material is capable of provoking public outrage, leading to a deterioration of public trust in the police, and disturbing law and order.The unauthenticated nature of the content, its targeted tone, and sensational presentation on mass-view platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and X makes it necessary for this Court to intervene in the interest of justice, it added.“It is also relevant that these videos do not fall within the protection of fair reporting or ethical journalism, as they neither cite verified sources nor appear backed by public interest considerations. In fact, such content only appears to have been published with malicious intent and may potentially incite public enmity against state institutions,” the judge further reasoned..The Court went on to comment that such content, if permitted to remain accessible to the public, could have a severe impact on public faith in the credibility of public institutions, including law enforcement agencies.“The unchecked publication of such targeted, defamatory, and impersonated content on mass platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and X can also lead to erosion of trust in policing and governance, especially when such impersonation is framed as authentic. Hence, this Court finds that the continuation of such posts and videos online is detrimental to societal harmony and discipline," it said. .The Court proceeded to issue directions to various internet platforms, including Meta, Google, X Corp, and independent digital news platforms, to take down the controversial audio clips. This included directions to ensure that no such unverified, ingenuine or defamatory content concerning those depicted in the audio clip is re-uploaded again on the respective online platforms. Any such content found online, whether through re-uploads, edited versions, YouTube shorts, reactions, misleading tweets or otherwise, should be taken down, the court has said. "It is further directed that no person, group, page, handler, or digital entity shall post, repost, tag, upload, or circulate the impugned content or any content of similar nature concerning the same individual(s) or institution(s), if the same is unauthenticated, unverified, fabricated, or intended to malign, defame, or damage the dignity of any person or institution, especially the law enforcement agency," the Court added. .Advocate Vikram Singh represented the applicant..[Read Order]