Someone recorded me without permission and uploaded it to YouTube
Someone recorded me without permission and uploaded it to YouTube
Going to be quite scant on details but...
I was out and about, and was messaged by two friends independently saying they were surprised to see me in a YouTube video.
Confused, I asked what they were on about. Turns out, a guy I gave advice to had then started recording me towards the end of our interaction without telling me, and has, weeks later, uploaded it as part of a longer video.
I was pretty tired at the time and doing the guy a favour (out of annoyance), and I don't like a few things, one of those being that he put me online (which, within hours has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times).
What can I do? I have already messaged him to tell him to remove me, but this seems like a ridiculous invasion of privacy.
IANAL (and likely neither is anyone here) - and I think the answer would be "it depends" on other details if you asked a lawyer to make a decision on what you've shared. So I think that is the only route if you can't get YouTube or the blogger to do the right thing.
Some relevant things this might hinge on:
- Is the person posting this doing making videos as a business venture - e.g. by making videos that they hope to profit from (e.g. by including advertising in it, or through YouTube monetisation)? If this was done as part of a business, that could make a big difference (generally businesses are held to a higher standard).
- Which country did this happen in? Laws are different between countries.
- Did they deceive you in any way to get you to do what they wanted for the video?
- Are you a public figure in any way (prior to the video)?
Some potential causes of action that your lawyer could consider if they apply:
- Misleading conduct - if they used deception in the course of their trade.
- Fraud - if they obtained valuable consideration (your video performance) through deception.
- Privacy Infringement - if they processed (including collected) your personally identifiable information (e.g. including images / videos of your face, or the identifiable sound of your voice) without consent or another lawful basis / denial of right of erasure. Some of this could apply to Google too - you might be able to submit a Right of Erasure (right to be forgotten) legal request, and at minimum they might need to blur your face and mask the audio so you aren't identifiable.
- Copyright infringement - potentially what they recorded counts as a performance and you have a copyright interest in the video. Another one that could apply to Google and be used to take it down.
4Those are very good points. It's very monetised so that will help. Would I submit right to erasure through YouTube?
2- 2
Depends on the country and where it was recorded
In a lot of places, it's completely legal to record if he's part of the conversation.
If he was not, in many places it's illegal
If it's a public place where there is no expectation of privacy, also possibly nothing you can do
11You mentioned this was in Europe. You are protected under the GDPR. There are additional laws if this happened in Germany or the UK. Your best bet is private lawyer.
99Well there goes my Judge Judy idea.
12
I'd send him an email informing you will seek to take legal action if he doesn't take you offline within 24h.
26Not a lawyer or legal expert, just a google-er
Definitely a huge dick move, but if it's illegal is a different matter. From what I understand, in the US (If this happened in the US) it depends where it took place. If you were in public it's mostly okay for them to record because "Anyone else could have been listening in" so there is no "expectation of privacy". If it was in private then that's easier to argue.
Now, for what you can do. I think this is one of the times you could actually issue a DMCA complaint. While it's not copyright.... we all know youtube has a quick process and err on the side of caution. You can report it and say you're in it without consent, or if you want to send a full DMCA compliant that could work.
What you could easily do is of course let your friends know this was done without your consent, and be public about it. Nothing like telling the truth, no one likes someone who secretly records them. Don't let them keep it a private thing, call out how crazy disrespectful it is
31I think it technically would be copyright, it's his likeness that the scumbag is using without permission.
1Unfortunately your likeness isn’t protected. There may be certain circumstances where you can prevent it from being used, but it's an uphill battle.
2
Thanks. I told them as much and that it was odd, but I don't have the opportunity, nor the desire to make it a big thing outside of getting myself taken out of the video. The copyright/DMCA concern requires a lot of detail which I just don't have, so I went through the recording-without-permission route which seems to be a goer.
18
Where do you live? Recording a private conversation without permission is a felony in two party states in the US. Meaning both parties most consent to the recording.
You may also have a recourse through YouTube's reporting system.
20YouTube has a very strict copyright system in place that favors the person making the copyright over the uploader. I say this to say that you could flag it for copyright because of your resemblance being shown and get the video removed.
The next part that would follow is for the uploaded to appeal to the copyright claim. Depending on YouTube’s decision, either they reject or approve his appeal. If his appeal is approved, then the video comes back up and the next copyright claim is for the courts. If YouTube doesn’t approve his appeal, then they refer it to the courts. That’s what I remember from the last few times I’ve seen YouTubers dealing with claims on their videos, regardless whether there was merit or not.
Most YouTubers back off when YouTube refers them to court because it’s too much of a hassle.
You may want to consider this for yourself to get the video removed if that’s what you’d like.
Only drawback is the Streisand Effect where others or the uploader make the video more popular and reupload it out of spite. Doubtful but it could happen under the right circumstances.
5Talk to an attorney.
3I'm not American, and I don't have much money.
4You don't need money to threaten with legal action.
1
I'd recommend on googling for "free lawyers in your_region" you might have these options available to you
2It would cross borders which I will not be remaining in very long.
2