The Short Answer
Only the copyright owner, or someone acting for them, can send a DMCA takedown notice. Lana Rhoades has said she wants 400+ of her old videos gone so her son never sees them, and she can't make it happen because, by her own account, she signed the rights over to the studios at 20. If you shot your content yourself and sell it on your own page, you are usually the owner, and that changes everything: every leaked copy is yours to report, site by site and on Google.
What Happened
The story is going round again this month on social pages across Europe, but it is not new. Rhoades first talked about it on the "Three Girls One Kitchen" podcast in June 2024, and the press picked it up again in January 2026. Her words have stayed the same: she was 19 or 20, she didn't understand what she was signing, and she wants the videos gone. She has also said she knows that is very hard to achieve.
She is not the first. Mia Khalifa asked for the same thing in 2020. In both cases the problem is not that nobody listens. It is who owns the videos.
Why Wanting It Gone Is Not Enough
A DMCA notice is a legal statement. The person who sends it declares, under penalty of perjury, that they own the copyright or are authorized to act for the owner. A site, a host or Google acts on the notice because of that statement.
When a performer signs with a studio, the contract usually gives the studio the copyright in the footage, and often a broad right to use the performer's image for as long as it likes. The performer appears in the video, but the studio owns it. So:
- the studio can send a DMCA notice for a pirated copy, and often does, to protect its sales;
- the performer can ask the studio to take the videos down, but the studio does not have to say yes;
- the performer can't send a valid DMCA notice for footage she does not own.
That is why someone with a huge audience and real public sympathy still can't make 400 videos disappear.
Creator Content Is Usually the Opposite
Most creators today don't work for a studio. They shoot on their own phone, edit it themselves and sell it on their own page. In that setup:
- You own the copyright from the moment you record. No registration needed to start (it can help later, see our copyright registration guide).
- The platform doesn't own it. The big creator platforms' terms say you keep ownership and give the platform a license to show your content to subscribers.
- Every leaked copy is an infringement of your copyright. You can send a notice to the site that shows it and ask Google and Bing to drop the page from search, even if the site ignores you. The steps are in our guide to removing leaked content.
Same kind of video, two different answers. What decides it is who owns the file.
The Gray Areas to Check
Ownership is not always obvious. Check these before a shoot, not after a leak:
- Collabs. If another creator films you, or you film each other, agree in writing who owns what and who can send takedowns. Without it, you may need the other person's help to remove a copy.
- Agencies. Some management contracts include a transfer of rights or exclusive control of your content. Read that clause. If the agency owns it, the agency has to act.
- Paid shoots and photographers. A photographer usually owns the photos they take unless the contract says otherwise. Ask for the rights, or at least written permission to send takedowns.
- Custom content. A fan who pays for a custom video does not get the copyright. You keep it unless you agreed to something else.
If you signed something years ago and you're not sure, a lawyer can tell you what it really says. Some countries also have privacy laws that may give you other routes, and the TAKE IT DOWN Act covers intimate images published without consent. Those are separate from copyright and depend on your case.
What We Do When It's Yours
When the content is yours, we act for you. We scan for leaked copies, send a DMCA notice to each site and ask Google to remove the link (and Bing on the Advanced and Supreme plans). You see each link and the status of each notice in your dashboard. Start with a free scan, no card needed.
Key Takeaways
- Only the copyright owner, or someone authorized by them, can send a DMCA notice.
- Performers who signed with a studio usually gave up the copyright, so they have to ask the studio.
- Creators who shoot and sell their own content usually own it, and can report every leaked copy.
- Collabs, agency contracts and photographers are where ownership gets unclear: put it in writing.
