Italian man sues restaurant after promotional video exposes his affair

An Italian man is suing a restaurant after a promotional video posted online allegedly exposed his affair and led to the end of his marriage. Photo / Supplied

An Italian man is suing a restaurant after a promotional video posted to social media allegedly exposed his affair.

The 42-year-old man, from the island of Sicily, had been dining out with his mistress at a restaurant in Catania when the pair were unknowingly filmed as part of the venue’s marketing content, the Daily Mail reported.

The footage was later uploaded to the restaurant’s TikTok account and was reportedly seen by the man’s wife shortly after it went live.

The woman, who believed her husband was at a business dinner at the time, is said to have confronted him after recognising him in the clip, with the revelation ultimately ending their relationship.

Italian consumer rights group Codacons has since accused the restaurant of breaching the man’s right to privacy.

“It is inadmissible that a restaurant films its customers without clear permission and posts the video, exposing the person to unpredictable consequences,” Codacons advocate Fransesco Tanasi said.

Tanasi warned that sharing footage without express consent “can have very serious effects on a person’s private life and family life”.

The organisation is now seeking damages on the man’s behalf and has threatened to refer the case to Italy’s privacy watchdog, according to the Daily Mail.

Questions around social media, consent and privacy have been in the spotlight recently after the Coldplay concert “jumbotron affair” in July last year.

Married former Astronomer chief executive Andy Byron was caught on the stadium’s big screen locked in a tender embrace with his HR executive Kristin Cabot.

The pair were seen trying to shield their faces when they realised they had been exposed.

“I made a bad decision and had a couple of High Noons and danced and acted inappropriately with my boss,” Cabot told the New York Times in an interview last month.

“And it’s not nothing. And I took accountability and I gave up my career for that. That’s the price I chose to pay.”

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