India, Dec. 17 -- Celebrity actors, singers, and even sportspersons, are rushing to court to stop the unauthorised use of their name, face, voice or likeness. The surge in these "personality rights" cases has coincided with two developments: the rise of social media and the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Deepfakes, AI-generated voices, manipulated images and viral memes have made it easier to reproduce and remix a public figure's identity.

While the government has recently issued AI Governance Guidelines to address some of these concerns, we are already witnessing the emergence of a new kind of private ordering of rights through celebrity-led personality rights cases. The Delhi High Court's directives to social media firms to...