An Italian man has launched legal action against a restaurant after a TikTok promo video allegedly exposed his secret affair and led to the collapse of his marriage.
The 42-year-old from Catania says his privacy was violated when the restaurant posted footage of him dining with another woman as part of its social media marketing. According to local reports, he had told his wife he was attending a routine business dinner, but instead spent the evening on a date with a lover.
Staff filmed the moment while creating promotional content, and the clip was later uploaded to TikTok without his knowledge or consent. His wife soon came across the video, confronted him, and reportedly ended the marriage, forcing him to leave their home.
Now, Italian consumer rights group Codacons is seeking damages on his behalf. Its representative, Francesco Tanasi, argues the restaurant acted unlawfully by recording customers and sharing the footage online without permission. He warned that publishing such videos can have serious consequences for people’s private and family lives, stressing that explicit consent must always be obtained.
Codacons has also threatened to take the case to Italy’s national privacy watchdog, saying the man never agreed to be filmed and had no idea he was being recorded. If the complaint is upheld, the restaurant could face penalties under Italian data protection laws.
The incident adds to a growing list of affairs exposed through TikTok, a platform that has increasingly played an unexpected role in uncovering relationship secrets — from viral concert clips to accidental revelations by strangers online.