A Chandigarh civil court has ordered Meta to suspend three Facebook pages over AI-generated political videos until October 2026. This ex parte injunction is the third court order in a year against Meta in the region, escalating from specific URLs to entire pages. The court explicitly called out content appearing to be "politically calculated material" favouring Punjab's ruling party against an opposition leader.
How We Got Here
Earlier in August 2026, a Chandigarh court directed Meta to take down a morphed video of Congress MLA Sukhpal Khaira within 72 hours. Prior to that, in October 2025, 166 URLs carrying a fake Bhagwant Mann video were also removed by court order.
The Numbers
- The three suspended pages are Batale Di Rajneeti, Kachi Laan, and Thanedar.
- The AI videos, targeting politician Amandeep Jaintipur of Batala, had already accumulated 3 lakh views.
- Jaintipur is a front-runner for the Congress ticket from Batala ahead of the early 2027 Punjab elections.
- Advocate Harinder Deep Singh Bains argued the videos maligned Jaintipur as an "anti-social element" and "drug dealer."
- The court observed that uncontrolled AI manipulation "may adversely affect the health of our democracy."
What Happens Next
🇮🇳 Why This Matters for India
For political campaign managers in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, this ruling sets a precedent for how courts will police AI-generated content targeting opposition figures in state elections.
The Take
The court's explicit observation that the videos contained "politically calculated material in favour of the ruling party" against an opposition plaintiff is the real headline. This ruling forces Meta to move beyond a passive intermediary stance on AI-generated political attacks, especially with the 2027 Punjab elections approaching.
Source:
MediaNama ↗