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.
You 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.
Well there goes my Judge Judy idea.
Depending on where you live, and what service providers you have, you might even get a free lawyer for these kinds of things.
For example in my situation I have free legal help bundled to my mobile data plan for ID theft, gdpr violations, and for removal of images and videos I didn’t concent to have recorded.
Check your services, and you might save a bunch of money.
File a DMCA with Youtube.Videos get taken down all the time with this.
This is illegal will get your own account banned and can be undone by the guy asserting accurately that you don’t own the copyright to his video. Strategies that work great for scummy companies with teams of lawyers aren’t always great for those without.
Where do you live? What are the laws around recording another person without their consent. Note that usually audio recording in public is more restrictive than video in public, so assuming he didn’t mute the audio of the clip, you probably have a case there.
As for the suggestion about DMCA takedowns, that depends on of the information you shared could be considered copyrightable since the recording copyright belongs to the person doing the recording. That’s not common, so you could file a DMCA takedown, but I have a feeling it might not be legitimate. There might be other YouTube terms and conditions that they violated, though. Check the “Report” button for the options. I don’t have an account anymore to look.
In America so long as your in public and haven’t made privacy for yourself then audio or video are the same. If I could hear it and remember it and I’m in public I can record it. If I can see it and remember it and I’m in public I can record it. Audio only matters if they have a reasonable belief that the conversation is private.
Not 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
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.
I think it technically would be copyright, it’s his likeness that the scumbag is using without permission.
Unfortunately your likeness isn’t protected. There may be certain circumstances where you can prevent it from being used, but it’s an uphill battle.
Ask a local lawyer. Laws vary about recording someone without their permission.
Depends on your country/state. Ask him to redo that section of the video to leave your presence out of it to respect your privacy. If it affects you negatively in any way and puts you at risk, that is also something you can sue for.
I personally am a fan of being able to record any situation you might want to hold people liable to, but another thing completely is spreading it irresponsibly through social networks as a hit piece for an idea that you want to disseminate a biased and caricaturized version of an interview to represent, specially when they might not even be representing themselves in any capacity. I don’t think they need to take their video down, they just might need to obfuscate your face and voice on request.
I personally am a fan of being able to record any situation you might want to hold people liable to
I am not a public figure, and the questions were pretty innocuous, I just do not want to be filmed in a not-so-public place in an underhanded way without permission, especially when money is being made from the video.
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.
I tried reporting but didn’t give me a relevant option.
This is in Europe. I just did a quick search and you’re right, consent is needed where this was recorded.
From what I understand EU law is pretty strict on the fact that they must obtain permission first. That may vary by country though.
Edit: comments below are correct. I believe I’m thinking of businesses recording you which is part of EU law where personal conversations only seem to be addressed country by country if at all.
You’re right, found the relevant reporting process. Feels a bit too late now but yeah, did it anyways.
In the long run it’s good you reported the Youtuber. If dickhead gets enough strikes, his channel will be taken down.
Yeah it varies. In my country you only need to participate in the conversation to be allowed to record it.
You can also film or photograph anyone you feel like in public as long as they aren’t in a place where privacy is expected like a bathroom or something like that. In general you can record and upload all day long.
The law is much stricter on surveillance cameras.
Yeah it varies. In my country you only need to participate in the conversation to be allowed to record it.
If your country is part of the EU (aka having to comply with GDPR)? If so, you may be surprised to realise that things have really changed in the last few years. GDPR being only part of the reasons why. It’s not the same in every single country, but the shift is happening in favour of the plaintiffs, in the name of privacy, even when the scene was recored or snapped in a public space.
in France (my country) and in Germany it’s obvious that this trend is now in favour of the plaintiff when a few years ago its was still in favour of the photographer or videographer.
Nowadays, imho, no photographer/videographer in the EU should take the risk to publish any image of an identifiable person without having the written permission to do so from that very person (and that authorisation should also mention where it will be published and if the person should expect any compensation, and how much it is if there is any to be given). Street photography/videography in the EU is turning or already has depending the country, in a real booby trapped activity no matter if you’re doing it as hobbyist and not as a pro.
France, where I live, and Germany and two of those EU-ccountries where I would not take any picture and publish them without a written permission — and I’ve been doing street photography in France as a hobby for the last 30 years or so. The risk is too real to get into legal troubles. Even in the UK, a country which was alsways more welcoming too street photography (it was clear no one should expect any privacy while in a public space), things have started to shift. Add to that the complexity layer of the many ‘not public’ or ‘not entirely public spaces’ mixed within the public space, plus the terrorist or safety considerations, regulations or exception-rules and you get the real mess we’re in. It’s still much better in the UK, though, but well, like I said street photo is a hobby for me, not something I’m willing to take any risk or worry for (lawyers are expensive and my time is much more precious than money). So, I gave up on street photography almost completely. Instead, I started to… sketch street scenes.
Edit: clarifications.
Photographing or filming someone in a public space has always been very legally distinct from recording a private conversation in pretty much every jurisdiction.
Yes of course but recording a private conversation has been legal before and I couldn’t find any good indications that it has changed under the GDPR.
The law essentially says that it’s illegal to record or listen to private conversations which you aren’t a part of using technical instruments.
So it’s legal to press your ear against a wall but it’s illegal to use any tech to listen/record to anything.
I wonder if a cup pressed against the wall counts as tech
In Germany and I bet in other Europe countries as well, there are official free legal advise dates in courts. You just go there and ask a lawyer for free legal advice. I think that is your best and easiest bet. If they tell you to sue then you might have a shot and can potentially get quite a bit of money back
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
Recording and public dissemination of that recording through social networks are quite different concepts.
Even if it’s a public place, if he was a business (and maybe he his because it’s a yt channel) he may need to give you a model consent form before sharing your likeness
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.
Those are very good points. It’s very monetised so that will help. Would I submit right to erasure through YouTube?
Thanks a lot.
I’d send him an email informing you will seek to take legal action if he doesn’t take you offline within 24h.
Talk to an attorney.
I’m not American, and I don’t have much money.
