
Intimate footage of Italian TV presenter Stefano De Martino and his girlfriend, Caroline Tronelli, has been released online after being illegally captured by her home's surveillance cameras.
The videos have been shared on websites, messaging apps and private groups on social networks, causing a major media and legal scandal in Italy.
De Martino reacted immediately by filing a criminal complaint with the Porto Cervo Police and the Rome Prosecutor's Office, while his lawyers, Angelo and Sergio Pisani, confirmed that any possible compensation from the case will be donated to charities that support children and combat cyberbullying.
The lawsuit seeks the identification and prosecution of those who managed to extract the footage from the surveillance system, as well as those who then distributed it online. Lawyers stressed that this is a serious violation of privacy and warned that users who save or share the videos could face criminal charges.
Meanwhile, the Italian Data Protection Authority (Garante per la Privacy) has ordered an immediate and permanent ban on the distribution of the videos and has opened an official investigation. In a statement, the Authority notes that the publication of material relating to the intimate lives of individuals, even when it comes to public figures, “can cause serious and irreparable harm.”
The investigation targets not only the original authors of the publication, but also those who distributed the materials on social networks, often accompanying them with offensive comments towards the presenter and his family.