Analysis & critical thinking about privacy
- — Are any of the four types of invasion of privacy present? (Intrusion; Misappropriation; False Light; and Publication of Private Facts). Or, in Virginia and some other states, can the plaintiff allege Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress?
- — Can any of the main privacy defenses be applied by potential defendants / respondents? (Newsworthyness, Public Record, Consent)
- — If the allegation is Publication of Private Facts, are the facts so intimate and embarrassing that they would be “offensive to the average person?”
- — Analogous case law — What similar cases are there that can help guide your decision making process?
- — Mitigation — If you have made a mistake, what can you do to mitigate damages?
- — Dismiss — If you are in a strong position, should you ask the court to dismiss the case before it goes to trial?
- — Ethics — Use the ethics checklist in identifying the stakeholders, your ethics code (AdFed, PRSA, SPJ) , moral values, possible alternatives and the decision. (See Professional Ethics at this this site).
Privacy cases. Turn in via D2L drop box.
- Someone in your university’s public affairs department takes pictures of students and puts up a billboard to advertise the school. However, they did not get permission, much less a signed “model release,” from the students. Can the students sue and recover damages?
- You’re writing a story about a sexual assault, and you have the victim’s name from a police report. Do you print the name? Why or why not?
- Let’s say you do print a sexual assault victim’s name accurately from a police report, and he feels like his rights to privacy were violated and he sues you for invasion of privacy. Does he have a case?
- You’re working on an ad campaign for a new gated community development, and learn that a famous rock star has already bought a lakefront lot. The star does not want to endorse the development, but you know that sales will skyrocket if you somehow work him into the ad. Should you do it?
- A student running for SGA president has AIDs. You know this for a fact, and you check with the student, and she confirms it but does NOT want that information out there. What do you do?
- You obtain a video of a married celebrity film star having a romantic moment with someone who is not her spouse. The video seems to show passion and even has some nudity. This is really going to get your show known. Should you use it?
- Naming Victims of sex crimes – In 2007, a 13-year-old boy disappeared while walking home from school in a small Missouri town. A tip from a school friend led police on a frantic four-day search that had a happy ending: the police discovered not only Ben, but another boy as well, who, four years earlier, had disappeared while riding his bike in the same town. The question is whether children who are thought to be the victims of sexual abuse should ever be named in the media? Why or why not? Even you think it is unethical, was is your legal position if the name has inadvertently been published? Cite cases in privacy law. (This example is from SPJ Ethics Case Studies.)