Invasion of Privacy

Home > Journalism > Media law and ethics > Invasion of Privacy

Understanding the various forms of invasion of privacy, including intrusion, public disclosure of private facts, false light, and appropriation.

Constitutional Rights and Privacy: This covers the fundamental right to privacy and its interpretation under the United States Constitution.
Private Facts: This involves the publication of private details of an individual's life, such as personal habits, physical attributes, and personal finances.
Intrusion upon Seclusion: This relates to situations where an individual's privacy is violated by trespassing or monitoring their private space, such as home or office.
False Light: This involves the publication of information that could misrepresent an individual or entity, even though the information true.
Public Disclosure of Private Facts: This relates to situations where private information is made available publicly, such as in a newspaper or online.
Right to be Forgotten: This is the concept that individuals can request the removal of digital information from the internet.
Journalistic Ethics and Responsibility: This involves the ethical considerations and responsibilities that journalists have towards reporting and publishing information that is in the public interest.
Copyright and Intellectual Property: This includes laws and regulations that protect the intellectual property of individuals and corporations, such as copyrights, patents, and trademarks.
Cyberbullying and Cyber-Harassment: This involves the use of technology to bully, harass, or intimidate individuals online.
Revenge Porn: This involves the non-consensual distribution of private sexual images or videos.
Surveillance and Government Access to Information: This covers government or institutional access to private information through surveillance or monitoring.
Social Media Privacy: This involves the ways that social media platforms use and monetize user data and the ethical implications of these practices.
Data Privacy Laws and Regulations: This includes laws and regulations related to the privacy and protection of individuals' personal data, such as GDPR in the European Union and CCPA in California.
Digital Security and Cybersecurity: This includes the measures taken to protect information and prevent unauthorized access, such as encryption and cybersecurity tools.
Employee Privacy: This includes laws and regulations that protect employees' privacy in the workplace, such as monitoring of computer usage and email communications.
Intrusion: When someone enters private property, space, or conversation without permission or sees/hears private information.
Publication of private facts: When someone publicly reveals private information that is not newsworthy or of public interest.
False light: When private information is published, but the information is inaccurate.
Appropriation: When someone uses someone else's name or image without permission for commercial or other gain.
Public disclosure of private facts: When truthful information of private nature is published or broadcasted without consent.
Intrusion upon seclusion: When someone illegally monitors private communications or personal spaces.
Misappropriation of identity: When someone else's name, likeness, or identity is used without permission for commercial or other gain.
Disclosure of private information online: When someone's private information is exposed on the internet without permission.
Cyberstalking: The use of technology to harass or intimidate someone online, resulting in invasion of privacy.
Revenge porn: When explicit images or videos are published online without the subject's consent.
- Quote: "intends to restrain governmental and private actions that threaten the privacy of individuals."
- Quote: "Over 150 national constitutions mention the right to privacy."
- Quote: "Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)."
- Quote: "many interpret this through Article 12, which states: 'No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence...'"
- Quote: "Since the global surveillance disclosures of 2013, initiated by ex-NSA employee Edward Snowden..."
- Quote: "Government agencies, such as the NSA, FBI, CIA, R&AW, and GCHQ, have engaged in mass, global surveillance."
- Quote: "whether privacy can co-exist with the current capabilities of intelligence agencies", "whether or not the right to privacy is forfeited as part of the social contract", "whether threats of terrorism are a valid excuse to spy on the general population."
- Quote: "technology companies, such as Amazon, Apple, Meta, Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo that use and collect personal data."
- Quote: "including the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal..."
- Quote: "psychographic company Cambridge Analytica which used personal data from Facebook."
- Quote: "intelligence agencies to access and analyze many details of an individual's life."
- Quote: "whether privacy can co-exist with the current capabilities of intelligence agencies to access and analyze many details of an individual's life."
- Quote: "whether or not the right to privacy is forfeited as part of the social contract to bolster defense against supposed terrorist threats."
- Quote: "whether threats of terrorism are a valid excuse to spy on the general population."
- Quote: "technology companies... that use and collect personal data."
- Quote: "originally written to guarantee individual rights of everyone everywhere."
- Quote: "an element of various legal traditions."
- Quote: "No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence..."
- Quote: N/A
- Quote: "ex-NSA employee Edward Snowden."