Media Law - Confidentiality & Privacy

People have the right to keep secrets, so long as the secret is not against the public interest. People also have the right to pass on these secrets to others with the expectation that they will not pass them on to others.

Doctors and lawyers are main examples of people who are under obligation to keep information private. This information will regard to their patients or clients, and has no right to be passed on to any third party.

If information is disclosed to a journalist from a third party, or a journalist comes into possession of confidential information, they may find themselves under a legal duty to respect the confidence of that matter.

A person who passes on information to a journalist may have received it confidentially. If the person who the confidence belongs to, discovers that information has been disclosed about them before a paper has been published or a programme has been broadcast, then that person can get a temporary injunction prohibiting publication of the confidential material.

Breach of Confidence:

A person is in breach of confidence if they pass on information which;

- Has the necessary quality of confidence – important information and

• Was provided in ‘circumstances imposing an obligation’ (Reasonable person would know to keep the matter secret); and
• There was no permission to pass on the information; and

It must be very damaging to the person of whom the information was released.

All 4 elements of this test must be proven.

Privacy:

Article 8 of the Human Right Acts states:

‘Everyone has the right to respect his/her private and family life, his home and his correspondence.’

There is an expectation that the general public is entitled to know about the private lives of celebrities/people in the public eye. Many people view sport people as role models, and therefore should behave in an appropriate way towards their fans etc. Just because someone is in the public eye does not mean, private information about them should be disclosed. Some matters are in the public interest, in which case it is viewed that the public should know about the current matter.

Just because someone has the ability to take a photograph on their camera, does not mean they have the right to disclose it in publications, allowing a large number of other people to view it as well. You need permission from that person to publish that image/information.

Consent is vital in journalism.

If there is no consent and no valuable public interest then do not publish the story.

Public Interest:

This is generally the welfare of the public. If something has been kept secret about someone in the public eye, and this matter will affect the way in which the public view or act towards this person then it can be said that the matter is in the public interest. If something will prevent the public from being misled by an action or statement of an individual or organisation, then the matter is in the public interest.