Legal Question in Technology Law in California

I found out that there is a certain video on an adult website where anonymous users (possibly an ex) are claiming that the person in the video is me, which it is not, however she looks similar to me. I've called and emailed the website asking if the video or comments can be removed, since this list is shown on Google's search results, and can affect my chances with an employer. I've explained to them the person in the video isn't me, and to please remove the comments or video so I can request Google to remove the link, but the woman I spoke to on the phone said they aren't able to do that since the person in the video isn't me. I think this is horrible that they won't even delete the comments when it isn't me. I've tried another email related to the website, but I'm just getting the run around. Is there a way to tell them that they'd need to legally remove the comments since there is slander in the comments?

Thank you for your advice!


Asked on 9/19/10, 10:43 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Daniel Bakondi The Law Office of Daniel Bakondi

Hi. I can write them an attorney letter. Send me an email.

Best,

Daniel Bakondi, Esq.

[email protected]

415-450-0424

The Law Office of Daniel Bakondi, APLC

870 Market Street, Suite 1161

San Francisco CA 94102

http://www.danielbakondi.com

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Answered on 9/24/10, 11:07 pm
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

The website probably does not have to remove the comments, but most would under similar circumstances. The fact that you aren't the person in the video seems irrelevant since you are only asking them to remove the comments about you, not the video itself. Their refusal may be based upon this simple misunderstanding.

Website operators are generally not liable for content posted by their users. Most adult websites are well aware of this, and some are less willing than others to remove material that they don't have to. You need to make them understand that cooperating with you is in their interests.

If the operators refuse to cooperate with you, you might have a very hard time persuading a court to rule in your favor. You could, however, sue the users themselves. As part of that lawsuit, you could subpoena the website's records to find out who the users are. That would be a lot of effort and expense for you, but it would also be a lot of effort and expense for the website. The operators would have a strong incentive to take the comments down if they believe you are going to draw them into litigation against their users. You would still be entitled to the information so you could pursue the users, but once you know who they are you might decide that proceeding with the case is impractical (they might not be wealthy, might live in numerous jurisdictions, etc.). Even if that is how things turn out, you may get at least part of what you want.

Please feel free to contact me directly if you want to discuss your situation further.

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Answered on 9/25/10, 11:19 pm


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