CHENNAI: Justice N Sathish Kumar of Madras High Court has ordered YouTuber Joe Michael Praveen to pay Rs 50 lakh compensation to trans person entrepreneur Apsara Reddy for defaming her on social media.
Merely because a person has a right to post on YouTube, he cannot cross his limits encroaching upon the privacy of others.
When such statements surfaced on YouTube touching upon the character, behaviour and personal life of any individual, it will have a serious impact on their life, the judge observed. He said the contents uploaded make it clear they are objectionable and malicious and made without any semblance of truth. Such statements per se are defamatory, with malicious content.
Finding that the libellous videos forced Reddy to cancel a few of her programmes, the judge said though damages cannot be claimed, she has to be compensated with at least Rs 50 lakh. The judge also asked Google to be vigilant in the future against hosting such malicious content.
Apsara Reddy, who is one of the spokespersons of AIADMK party, filed the suit in 2022 seeking a compensation of Rs 1.25 crore for the damage, loss and hardships caused by the defamatory videos.