The Delhi High Court in India recently delivered a landmark verdict in favour of Aaradhya Bachchan, the 11-year-old daughter of Bollywood actors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan. The case has named Google LLC and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Grievance Cell) as additional parties.
The case was filed against a YouTube channel that spread false rumours about the young girl’s poor health and even her supposed death, causing immense distress to her family and fans.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time that Aaradhya has been the target of such malicious rumours. In 2021, her father, Abhishek Bachchan, called out the media for circulating unauthorized photos and videos of his daughter, declaring that she was “out of bounds”. He condemned such behaviour as “unacceptable” and urged people to respect his daughter’s privacy.
In this case, the Delhi High Court reminded Google and YouTube of their social responsibility to monitor and regulate content on their platform. The court emphasized that anyone who profits from such content has a duty to ensure that it does not harm or defame anyone, especially children.
The court’s verdict came down firmly in favour of Aaradhya and the Bachchan family, stating that every child, regardless of their background or parentage, deserves to be treated with respect.
