Celebrity children and relatives frequently face false, defamatory or misleading information published about them, which can cause serious harm to their reputation, mental health, and personal privacy, according to legal experts.
“The law provides a range of remedies under defamation laws, privacy protection, cyber regulations, and media ethics guidelines to counter such situations,” said Gaurav Sahay, practice head – technology and general corporate, Fox Mandal & Associates LLP. “Courts have increasingly recognized that minors, especially children of public figures, require greater protection from defamatory content, particularly when the information is fabricated or aimed at exploiting their association with celebrity parents.”
The Information Technology Act, 2000, also empowers authorities to block access to content that threatens public order or violates individuals’ rights. The Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code (2021) mandates social media platforms to remove defamatory or misleading content within a specified timeframe upon receiving complaints.
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While legal safeguards are available to protect interests of children, the Delhi High Court’s intervention in the Bachchan case underscores the need for online platforms to assume greater responsibility in preventing the dissemination of harmful content, especially targeting children, according to Sahay. Moreover, robust legal protections and increased accountability for online platforms are essential to safeguard celebrity relatives in the digital age, ensuring that their safety and well-being are prioritized, he said.
To be sure, during the era of traditional media, risks to celebrity relatives were primarily linked to limited but highly influential sources such as newspapers, magazines, and television channels that often sensationalized information to boost readership or viewership, leading to exaggerated or false narratives. While still significant, the harm could somewhat be contained through defamation suits and retractions in subsequent editions, Sahay said.
In contrast, the rise of the internet and social media has exponentially amplified these dangers. Unlike traditional media, the content published online is often permanent, shared widely, and difficult to erase, even after a court order.
Portecting children
Legal experts point out that the right to privacy, which offers protection against media overreach, is especially significant for minors. Courts in India have extended this principle to prevent unwarranted interference in the lives of celebrity children, holding that their personal lives and well-being are not fair game for public consumption.
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Ameet Datta, founder, ADP Law Offices, said actor Shilpa Shetty had filed a case in 2021 to safeguard her children’s privacy. The Bombay High Court then expressed concern about the safety of her children and ultimately upheld their fundamental right to privacy, while adding that reporting on investigative speculations by the press cannot be curtailed.
Celebrities worldwide have fought to shield their children from harassment and sensationalized coverage, said Aishwarya Kaushiq, advocate, disputes practice at BTG Advaya. In 2004, Princess Caroline of Monaco won a landmark privacy case against German magazines, while in 2008, the writer of the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling, reinforced children’s right to privacy through a legal victory. Actress Jennifer Garner took it further, leading efforts to pass a US law protecting celebrity children from media harassment.
“Celebrity relatives, both adults and children, often face media harassment, privacy breaches, and security threats. Cases like the kidnapping plot against David Beckham’s daughter Harper and Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan’s online trolling and media scrutiny highlight these risks,” Kaushiq explained. “Recently, Hollywood actor Ewan McGregor had to secure a restraining order to protect his wife and daughter from a stalker who had been threatening them.”
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Zubin Morris, partner at legal firm Little & Co., said that celebrity relatives, particularly minor children, are uniquely vulnerable to specific harms. These include pervasive misinformation, psychological distress due to intense scrutiny, misuse of personal data, and online harassment.
“Public scrutiny brings relentless judgment and pressure, including invasion of privacy, such as the paparazzi relentlessly pursuing celebrity children or the leaking of private photos, reputational harm from false narratives, like misleading reports, cyberbullying and stalking and heightened security concerns,” Morris said.
