Law lecture- Confidentiality and Privacy

Confidentiality – official secret act and test of confidentiality

Privacy - Disputed territory between Article 8 (right to private family life) and Article 10 (right to freedom of expression)
In the public interest- not just of interest to the public.

Confidentiality

Here is yet another rule to the selection of important rules that Journalists have to obtain every day of their work life while reporting on current affairs. Confidentiality is run by Common Law

Everyone is allowed to keep secrets as long as it is not in the matter of public interest ( as long as it doesn’t have an effect on the public)

If confidential secrets given to somone, that don’t affect the public were passed onto the third party without a permission then they committed breach of confidence which is a crime that may be a subject to a civil action for compensation.

If the secret information is revealed to a journalist then this has the potential to be Third Party Breach of Confidentiality.

Breach of confidence is committed when someone passes on secret information that has:
1. The necessary quality of confidence
2. There has been no permission to pass on the information
3. The detriment is likely to be caused to the person who gave info.
4. The information must have been imparted in circumstances imposing an obligation of confidence

All of above must be used for the information to be confidential.

In order to stop confidential information from being published the person to whom the secret belongs to has to get a temporary injunction preventing publication of confidential material. An injunction against one media organisation is an injunction against all publishers.

Super injunctions are different. They have been broken by MPs using parliamentary privilege – and journalists using qualified privilege.

Privacy

Also known as personal secrets.

Article 8 of the human right states that everyone has the right to respect for their private and family life, their home and their correspondence.  It is unacceptable to photograph anyone in a private place without their consent.

Privacy mainly affects tabloid and celebrity Journalism.

As in every other set of rules, there are expectations in the privacy code set on grounds of public interest:
1. Detecting or exposing crime or serious impropriety
2. Protecting public health and safety
3. Preventing the public from being misled by an action or statement of an individual or organisation.

Consent is an essential part in video and photo journalism. There are two types of consent. A journalist has to get one of them to be able to either film or photograph the scene/person.
1. Explicit consent: is when someone signs a written permission/ contract that allows to publish a picture or an article
2. Implicit consent: understanding of being filmed, for example in the crowed when everyone knows that the camera has a purpose to get shots of the crowed. If a person doesn’t want to be included in the shot they can just move away from it.

Public Interest

There is no legitimate public interest in knowing the whereabouts and behaviour of individuals generally in their private life despite appearing in public, regardless of their private live. A legitimate expectation of protection of one's private life is to be extended to be the criteria for assessment. A fair balance is to be struck between the right to privacy and the freedom of press