What can influencers do to avoid personal data being leaked online
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Case study on protecting personal information online as an influencer
Our client is a prominent fashion and luxury influencer boasting a substantial following of over 300,000+ on TikTok and 200,000+ on Instagram. Despite her notable success, she has unfortunately become the target of unwarranted attention, notably from users on the website Tattle.Life. This article will share light into how you can protect your personal information online as an influencer.
Table of content
What to do as an influencer when your personal data is leaked online
How to legally tackle leaked personal information
What to do if my personal data is leaked on social media
How to handle negative online content as an influencer
What to do as an influencer when your personal data is leaked online
Our client grappled with a series of severe concerns stemming from unauthorised online activities. First, there was a significant invasion of privacy, as users on a specific website publicly disclosed sensitive information about her family. This included revealing her brother’s occupation and location, with some going to the extent of researching and exposing his job details and their home address.
Additionally, the issue of doxxing was prominent, where personal details such as her other family members names were shared, representing a calculated and severe breach of privacy. The emotional and psychological impact of these actions was profound.
The doxxing and harassment directly contributed to our client's significant stress and anxiety, adversely affecting her mental health. Safety concerns were also at the forefront, as the publication of her personal information, particularly regarding her brother’s sensitive job, raised alarms about the potential risks to her family's security. Our client faced defamation and damage to her reputation. False narratives and accusations were spread about her, including claims that she was concealing her nationality and heritage, was envious of other influencers, and had undergone various plastic surgeries.
These baseless allegations not only tainted her public image but also added to the emotional distress she was already experiencing. Addressing these multifaceted concerns required a comprehensive legal approach, sensitive to the nuances of privacy, online safety, and reputation management.
How to legally tackle leaked personal information
To address these issues, our legal team initiated a series of strategic actions, starting with the submission of EU Privacy removal requests to Google. These requests were meticulously crafted, citing specific violations of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Our argument was centred around the fact that Google's continued display and dissemination of false, misleading, and outright defamatory content about our client did not meet any criteria for serving the public interest.
We emphasised that such content not only infringed upon our client's rights but also contradicted the fundamental principles of GDPR. Particularly, we focused on the regulation's provisions concerning data accuracy and the right to erasure, commonly known as the ‘right to be forgotten’. This aspect of GDPR empowers individuals to request the deletion of their personal data when it's no longer necessary, inaccurate, or unlawfully processed.
By aligning our legal strategy with these provisions, we highlighted the necessity of removing the contentious URLs to protect our client's personal and professional integrity. Our thorough understanding of GDPR's nuances allowed us to persuasively argue that the continued availability of this information on a widely-used platform like Google was both inappropriate and legally untenable. In doing so, we sought not just to rectify the immediate issues faced by our client but also to reinforce the broader principles of personal data protection and digital rights under UK and EU law.
What to do if my personal data is leaked on social media
If you find that your personal data has been leaked on social media, the first step is to document the content and where it was posted. Contact the social media platform to request removal based on their privacy policies. You should also consider involving a solicitor who specialises in harassment and privacy law, who can act quickly to minimise the impact and the distribution of the harassing posts.
In cases where the content is defamatory, the UK Defamation Act 2013 may provide additional legal recourse. Consulting with a legal expert specialising in digital privacy and defamation law is advisable to understand your rights and the best course of action.
How to handle negative online content as an influencer
The combined effect of these defamatory statements and privacy breaches necessitated a multifaceted and robust approach to reputation management. Our strategy had to be comprehensive, addressing not just the immediate defamation but also the wider implications of privacy invasion. In crafting our response, we aligned our tactics with the relevant legal provisions that protect individuals against defamation and privacy invasion. This approach was rooted in a deep understanding of the delicate balance between freedom of expression and the right to privacy and reputation.
By invoking these legal frameworks, we sought to not only address the defamation and privacy issues head-on but also to prevent further harm to our client's reputation. Our approach underscored the importance of a proactive and thorough legal response in cases of online defamation and privacy breaches. It highlighted the need for online vigilance, where personal and professional reputations can be quickly and unfairly tarnished. Through our efforts, we aimed to restore our client's reputation and ensure her right to a private life, free from unjustified public scrutiny and false accusations.
Our client conveyed deep appreciation for the successful resolution of her case, particularly highlighting her relief and gratitude for the removal of the harmful URLs. This action represented a significant victory in her struggle against online harassment, effectively diminishing the reach and impact of the damaging content. She recognised that while it would take some time before we were able to completely delete the content from the Tattle.Life platform itself, the measures we implemented played a crucial role in reducing the overall impact of the harassment. The delisting of the URLs from Google and from other search engines significantly lessened the visibility of the defamatory content, thereby mitigating its potential to cause further harm to her reputation and well-being. .
If you find that your personal data has been leaked on social media, the first step is to document the content and where it was posted. Contact the social media platform to request removal based on their privacy policies. You should also consider involving a solicitor who specialises in privacy law and who can act quickly to minimise the impact and the distribution of the harassing posts.
Lawyers thoughts on the case
Influencers facing the exposure of their private data published online can endure significant hardships, including harassment, safety concerns, and defamation. The dissemination of sensitive information about our clients family, including her brother's occupation and home address, led to emotional distress and safety fears. False narratives and baseless accusations further tarnished her reputation and exacerbated her mental health struggles. Our legal team remains committed to finding solutions tailored to the individual's needs, prioritising privacy, online safety, and reputation management in our approach to resolving such cases.
This case serves as a significant example of the power and efficacy of legal interventions under the UK GDPR and the Defamation Act in safeguarding individuals against the perils of online harassment. The successful outcome of this case underscores the crucial role that these legal frameworks play in providing protection in the digital sphere. This case highlighted the increasingly important role of digital privacy laws in the modern world, particularly for individuals who maintain a substantial online presence.
In an era where digital footprints are extensive and often permanent, understanding and leveraging the protections offered by laws such as the UK GDPR and the Defamation Act is imperative. These laws not only offer remedies for privacy breaches and defamation but also serve as deterrents against the proliferation of online harassment and misinformation. Moreover, this case illustrates the need for a nuanced understanding of how digital data is managed, shared, and protected. It demonstrates how proactive legal strategies can effectively combat the challenges posed by online platforms in terms of personal data misuse and reputation damage.
