Vakil Help Desk News: the Karnataka High Court has held that uploading a photograph to social media does not amount to consent for anyone else to use that image in obscene or objectionable material.
Vakil Help Desk News, Litigation & Courts. The Karnataka High Court has held that simply uploading a photograph to a social-media account does not amount to consent for others to take that image and use it in obscene or objectionable material.
The principle, in plain words
Consent is tied to a purpose. Sharing a picture so friends and followers can see it is one thing; it does not license a stranger to download, morph or misuse that picture in sexual, defamatory or obscene content. Such misuse remains an offence, and the original act of posting the photo cannot be treated as permission for it.
- Consent is purpose-specific: posting a photo is not blanket permission to reuse it.
- Misuse stays a crime: morphing or using an image in obscene material is not excused by the fact it was once posted.
What this means for you
Putting a photo online never licenses its misuse. If your image has been morphed or used in obscene or defamatory content, you have remedies — including complaints to the police and the platform, and takedown action. We advise on image misuse, morphing, deepfakes and online harassment.