New Delhi, August 30: Meta had reportedly created AI chatbots of celebrities, including Taylor Swift, without their consent. These chatbots were allegedly designed to engage users in flirty conversations, which were said to be shared across Meta platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Legal experts suggest that the use of the celebrities’ likenesses may have potentially violated their publicity rights.

As per a report of Reuters, Mark Zuckerberg-run Meta used the names and images of Hollywood stars like Taylor Swift, Scarlett Johansson, Anne Hathaway, and Selena Gomez to develop multiple "flirty" social-media chatbots without the celebrities’ consent. While many of these bots were created by users using a Meta chatbot-building tool, Reuters found that a Meta employee personally created three bots, including two "parody" versions of Taylor Swift. Reliance-Meta Partnership: Reliance Industries Announces Joint Venture With Mark Zuckerberg’s Company to Build and Scale Enterprise AI Solution in India, Global Market.

As per reports, Mark Lemley, a law professor at Stanford University specialising in generative AI and intellectual property, has raised concerns about whether the Meta celebrity bots would be covered under legal protections for imitations. Reuters also reported that Meta permitted users to generate publicly accessible chatbots of child celebrities, including 16-year-old actor Walker Scobell. When prompted for an image of the teen at the beach, the bot produced a "shirtless" photo. The avatar was allegedly captioned the image with, "Pretty cute, huh?"

A Meta spokesperson, Andy Stone, reportedly said that the company’s AI tools should not have generated intimate images of celebrities or child stars. Stone acknowledged that the creation of images showing female celebrities in lingerie reflected shortcomings in Meta’s own policies, which forbid such content. What Is Reliance Intelligence, Jio Frames? Know All About Mukesh Ambani’s Mission for AI Adoption in India and Smart-Glasses Announced During 48th AGM.

Stone said, “Like others, we permit the generation of images containing public figures, but our policies are intended to prohibit nude, intimate or sexually suggestive imagery." Reuters found that ahead of the report’s publication, Meta removed roughly a dozen bots, including parody and unlabelled avatars.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 30, 2025 01:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).