Privacy laws in the United States

Invasion of privacy is a legal term essentially defined as the unlawful intrusion into the personal life of another person without just cause and includes a non-public person's right to privacy from: a) intrusion into solitude or into private affairs; b) public disclosure of embarrassing private information; c) publicity which puts him/her in a false light to the public; d) appropriation of a person's name or picture for another person's gain or commercial advantage.^[1] The right to privacy is the right of a person to be secluded and not seen, heard, or disturbed and involves freedom from observation, intrusion, or attention unless there is a "reasonable' public interest in personal activities, the right to stop police and other government agents from searching person or property except when there is "probable cause", the freedom to make certain decisions about our own personal bodies and private lives without interference from the government, and protected in the due process clause of the 14th amendment of the United States Constititution, the right to privacy regarding family, marriage, motherhood, procreation, and child rearing.^[2] However, public figures have less privacy, and this is an evolving area of law as it relates to the media.

Development of the doctrine

In the United States, the development of the doctrine regarding this tort was largely spurred by an 1890 Harvard Law Review article written by Samuel D. Warren and Louis D. Brandeis on The Right of Privacy. Modern tort law gives four categories of invasion of privacy:^[3]

1. Intrusion of solitude - physical or electronic intrusion into one's private quarters.
2. Public disclosure of private facts -- the dissemination of truthful private information which a reasonable person would find objectionable
3. False light - the publication of facts which place a person in a false light, even though the facts themselves may not be defamatory.
4. Appropriation -- the unauthorized use of a person's name or likeness to obtain some benefits.

Intrusion of solitude

Intrusion of solitude occurs where one person exposes another to unwarranted publicity. In a famous case from 1944, author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings was sued by Zelma Cason, who was portrayed as a character in Rawlings' acclaimed memoir, Cross Creek.^[4] The Florida Supreme Court held that a cause of action for invasion of privacy was supported by the facts of the case, but in a later proceeding found that there were no actual damages.

Intrusion upon seclusion

Intrusion upon seclusion occurs when a perpetrator intentionally intrudes, physically, electronically, or otherwise, upon the private space, solitude, or seclusion of a person, or the private affairs or concerns of a person, by use of the perpetrator's physical senses or by electronic device or devices to oversee or overhear the person's private affairs, or by some other form of investigation, examination, or observation intrude upon a person's private matters if the intrusion would be highly offensive to a reasonable person. Hacking a computer is an example of intrusion upon privacy.^[5] In determining whether intrusion has occurred, one of three main considerations may be involved: expectation of privacy; whether there was an intrusion, invitation, or exceedance of invitation; or deception, misrepresentation, or fraud to gain admission. Intrusion is “an information-gathering, not a publication, tort…legal wrong occurs at the time of the intrusion. No publication is necessary.” ^[6]

Public disclosure

Public disclosure of private facts arises where one person reveals information which is not of public concern, and the release of which would offend a reasonable person^[7]. "Unlike libel or slander, truth is not a defense for invasion of privacy."^[8] Disclosure of private facts includes publishing or widespread dissemination of little-known, private facts that are non-newsworthy, not part of public records, public proceedings, not of public interest, and would be offensive to a reasonable person if made public.^[9]

False light

Main article: False light

False light is a legal term that refers to a tort concerning privacy that is similar to the tort of defamation. For example, the privacy laws in the United States include a non-public person's right to privacy from publicity which puts them in a false light to the public; which is balanced against the First Amendment right of free speech.

False light laws are "intended primarily to protect the plaintiff's mental or emotional well-being."^[10] If a publication of information is false, then a tort of defamation might have occurred. If that communication is not technically false but is still misleading then a tort of false light might have occurred.^[10]

The specific elements of the Tort of FALSE LIGHT vary considerably even among those jurisdictions which do recognize this Tort. Generally, these elements consist of the following:

1. A publication by the Defendant about the Plaintiff;
2. made with actual malice (very similar to that type required by New York Times v. Sullivan in "Defamation" cases);
3. which places the Plaintiff in a false light; AND
4. that would be highly offensive (i.e., embarrassing to reasonable persons).^[10]

   Appropriation of name or likeness

   Main article: Personality rights

   Although this is a common-law tort, most states have enacted statutes that prohibit the use of a person’s name or image if used without consent for the commercial benefit of another person.

   Appropriation of name or likeness occurs when a person uses the name or likeness of another person for personal gain or commercial advantage. Action for misappropriation of right of publicity protects a person against loss caused by appropriation of personal likeness for commercial exploitation. A person's exclusive rights to control his or her name and likeness to prevent others from exploiting without permission is protected in similar manner to a trademark action with the person's likeness, rather than the trademark, being the subject of the protection. ^[11]

   
   Appropriation is the oldest recognized form of invasion of privacy involving the use of an individual’s name, likeness or identity without consent for purposes such as ads, fictional works, or products.^[12]

   "The same action — appropriation —can violate either an individual’s right of privacy or right of publicity. Conceptually, however, the two rights differ."^[13]

   Privacy and the United States Constitution

   Invasion of privacy is a commonly used cause of action in a legal pleading. The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States ensures that "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." The amendment, however, only protects against searches and seizures conducted by the government. Invasions of privacy by persons who are not state actors must be dealt with under private tort law.

   
   

   A notable quote regarding the United States Constitution and privacy in the case of Dietemann v. Time Inc. (9th Cir. 1971): “The First Amendment has never been construed to accord newsmen immunity from torts or crimes committed during the course of newsgathering. The First Amendment is not a license to trespass, to steal, or to intrude by electronic means into the precincts of another’s home or office.”^[14]

   Notes

   1. ^ Invasion of Privacy Law & Legal Definition [1]
   2. ^ Right to Privacy Law & Legal Definition [2]
   3. ^ *William Prosser, Privacy, 48 Calif.L.Rev. 383 (1960).
   4. ^ Cason v. Baskin, 20 So. 2d 243 (Fla. 1944) (note: Baskin was Rawlings' married name).
   5. ^ Invasion of Privacy, Intrusion Upon Seclusion [3]
   6. ^ Privacy Torts, Intrusion [4]
   7. ^ Common Law Privacy Torts
   8. ^ Invasion of Privacy [5]
   9. ^ Privacy Torts, Disclosure of Private Facts [6]
   10. ^ ^{a b c} FALSE LIGHT by Professor Edward C. Martin - Cumberland School of Law, Samford University
   11. ^ Invasion of Privacy, Appropriation of Name or Likeness [7]
   12. ^ Privacy Torts, Appropriation [8]
   13. ^ Privacy Torts, Differences Between the Right of Privacy and the Right of Publicity [9]
   14. ^ Privacy Torts, Section 9 [10]

   
   

   External links

   • U.S. Constitution: First Amendment: Invasion of Privacy via FindLaw.
   • Invasion of Privacy and the Media: The Right "To Be Let Alone"ko:사생활 침해

   he:ההגנה על הפרטיות בנזיקין