Discovering a private video you don't remember filming
Legal challenges when you're misidentified in explicit online videos
Legal strategy for mistaken identity in adult content
Limitations of the right to be forgotten for anonymous adult content
Lawyer's thoughts about the case
If you've found a video online that looks like you
Discovering a private video you don't remember filming
Our client, whom we’ll call “Daniel”, is a tradesperson who lives and works in the London area. He contacted us after coming across an adult video on a popular porn site.
The video was graphic, publicly available, and had been watched thousands of times. What disturbed Daniel most was that the person in the video looked and acted remarkably like him. However, he had no memory of filming it.
He didn’t recognise the setting, and the other person’s face could not be seen, and he was sure he never agreed to be recorded. Daniel recalled that during a difficult period in his life over a decade ago, he had been using escort services and drinking heavily. He admitted to having had consentual encounters in the past, but had no memory of the specific act shown in the video. He wanted this explicit video removed from the internet immediately.
He was worried that he may have been filmed without his knowledge and that one of those encounters might have resulted in the footage. The footage had been uploaded to various adult platforms, leading Daniel to fear that friends, family, or work associates could come across it by accident. This triggered serious emotional distress and led him to seek urgent legal advice.
Legal challenges when you're misidentified in explicit online videos
Daniel was understandably distressed. He felt exposed, humiliated, and fearful about the damage to his reputation. He had already started counselling before he reached out to us, having fallen into depression as a result of the stress and confusion surrounding the situation.
This case raised complex legal issues. First and foremost was the question of consent. If Daniel had been filmed without his knowledge or permission, the distribution of the video would likely constitute a serious breach of his right to privacy under UK law.
There was also the question of whether the publication of the video amounted to harassment. Under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, a person can be found to have committed harassment if they engage in conduct that causes another person alarm or distress, especially if it is repeated. Even a single incident, if severe enough and if allowed to persist online, could meet this threshold.
The psychological toll, the reputational fear, the need for clarity and resolution, made it essential to act quickly and comprehensively. Eventually, he sought legal help and was pleased when he finally found a solicitor who he felt listened and fully understood the situation.
Legal strategy for mistaken identity in adult content
We approached Daniel’s case with sensitivity and a focus on evidence. His uncertainty about whether he was the individual in the video meant that we had to tread carefully to avoid drawing unwanted attention or confirming any association publicly.
We began by drafting a pre-action letter addressed to the performer and production company responsible for the video. In the letter, we outlined Daniel’s position, referencing the distress caused by the footage and asserting claims for harassment, misuse of private information, and breaches of data protection law. We demanded disclosure of documents under data access rights and requested confirmation of the identity of the person in the video.
We did not pursue direct takedown requests with the adult sites at this stage, because doing so without firm proof of identity could have drawn further visibility to the video and potentially linked our client more directly to it. The production company, through a series of email exchanges, initially denied that Daniel was the person in the video.
Eventually, they provided copies of the model’s ID and records used to satisfy compliance requirements. The ID showed that the individual in the footage was not Daniel but another person who bore a striking resemblance to him. This approach avoided escalation and prevented the risk of reputational fallout. It was measured, legally sound, and ultimately delivered the clarity and reassurance Daniel needed.
Limitations of the right to be forgotten for anonymous adult content
We also submitted right to be forgotten requests to Google to delist links to the videos from search results. These were unsuccessful due to the absence of any identifying personal data in the video or its description.
It is worth mentioning the reason why our right to be forgotten requests to Google were unsuccessful. Under UK and EU data protection law, the right to erasure — often referred to as the right to be forgotten — applies only when an individual can be clearly identified in the content they are asking to remove. This is because search engines are only required to delist personal data about identifiable individuals and the law does not permit one person to request the erasure of another's data, even if it is harmful.
In Daniel’s case, since he could not confirm he was the person in the footage and did not want to wrongly claim ownership of it, we had no legal basis to prove his identity in the video. As a result, the search engine refused to act. This underscores a limitation in the process, particularly when someone is dealing with potential misidentification in sensitive content.
Lawyer's thoughts about the case
This case highlights not just the trauma caused by intimate content being shared online, but also the growing difficulty in confirming what is real and what isn’t. It was a case of mistaken identity, but one which carried all the emotional and reputational damage of being real — until legal intervention sought the truth and brought clarity to our client.
We are increasingly approached by people who have come across videos that appear to feature them but cannot be sure. Sometimes the footage is authentic and was shared without permission. Other times, it’s a case of uncanny resemblance or even AI-manipulated content such as deepfakes.
The rise in sophisticated digital editing tools has blurred the line between fact and fabrication, and for individuals caught in the middle, the emotional consequences are very real. Even when there’s no name attached, being identifiable by face or context can amount to a breach of privacy. However, the law still requires a clear legal link to the person making the complaint.
This presents a challenge — especially where someone, like Daniel, cannot or does not wish to confirm their involvement for fear of escalating the situation or inadvertently 'owning' content that may not involve them.
It’s also important to recognise that not every problem like this is resolved strictly through court orders or formal litigation. In Daniel’s case, what ultimately helped was a cooperative and respectful dialogue with the content producer, who voluntarily disclosed the identity of the actual performer. The matter was resolved without hostility, through effective legal representation, specialising in removing misleading internet content, and careful communication.
If you've found a video online that looks like you
Whether you’re certain it’s you or not, don’t suffer in silence. Legal support is available, and fast action can often stop the spread of the content, reduce the harm, and give you clarity and peace of mind. We’ve supported hundreds of clients facing situations like this and we can support you too.
