Privacy

LAW

CLASS EXAMPLE:
"Oh it was full of snark"


INVASION OF PRIVACY

​Libel - must be false/must damage reputation
​Privacy – not necessarily false and can protect feelings

4 Categories of Invasion of Privacy

​1. Appropriation/Commercialization
(stealing my face to promote their product)

​2. Revealing Personal private facts
​
​3. Intrusion
- trespassing, spying on somebody on the farm

​4. False Light
- has to be primarily/substantially false, look like it's false, hold you up to some humiliation because of its interpretation



1. Appropriation/Commercialization
Using an individual’s name or likeness for commercial /trade purposes without consent

Two rights involved:
1. Right to Privacy –​a personal right

2. Right of Publicity – a property right – protects economic value of name or likeness
"we can take our own pictures and make our own money"

Video/Photo issues: Individuals? not so much but Disneyland or Elvis

News and Information Exception
​Individuals cannot sue for appropriation in a news story

Booth Rule
The use of a person’s name or likeness in an advertisement for a media product is usually not regarded as an appropriation if the name or likeness has been or will be part of the content.

"You can buy anything" Pay for the rights.

Consent as a Defense
​Written consent is generally uncontestable

​Oral consent does not offer the same protection; it can be easily contested

When Consent Won’t Work
​1. Consent today may not be valid in the distant future
​2. Some persons (minors, wards of the state) cannot give consent
​3. Consent to use a photograph does not apply if image is altered or changed

Life After Death
​The right to privacy is a personal right that dies with the individual
​Several states have laws stating a right to publicity may live on after death




2. Revealing Personal Private Facts

​-Truth is not a factor
​​damages are not lessened by retraction (can’t take back embarrassment)
"She gave me a D on that paper..i'm gonna print out these fliers that reveals that she has AIDS"

​-Easier to prove embarrassment than actual damage to reputation


It is illegal to publicize private information if facts:
​-Would be highly offensive to a reasonable person,
​-Are private, and
​-Not of legitimate public concern
​
It's not illegal to reveal a rape victim, but it is generally not shown/told.

Private facts –
​not known to the public
​not public record
​not precious revealed by person
​not taking place in public
​not in view of public
​
Can report most anything that happens or is seen in public.

Publicity in privacy law differs from publication in libel law
​Publicity—communication of information to a large number of people
​Publication—the communication of information to a single third party