New Delhi, July 11 -- SALT LAKE CITY - The video lasted only seconds, but for Taylor Frankie Paul, it was enough. In it, she is crying during a dispute with her ex-partner Dakota Mortensen, every moment of private anguish preserved and uploaded to TikTok by a man she had not authorized to be there.

The man who posted it is Cru Eaton, a close friend of Mortensen. On Friday, Paul filed a civil stalking petition against Eaton in Salt Lake County, Utah, requesting a judge order him to cease what she describes as a pattern of stalking and harassment. The petition, a legal instrument distinct from a traditional restraining order, states that Paul possesses video and photographic evidence in support of her case.

Eaton captioned the clip with a...