There are four types of privacy invasion:
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Public disclosure of private and embarrassing facts
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Courts have found that certain details about people’s lives, although true, are considered “off limits” to be printed. When suing for this type of libel, the plaintiff must prove that the information was: “sufficiently private or not already in the public domain, sufficiently intimate, and highly offensive to a reasonable person.”
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The “newsworthiness” defense: A news organization can defend a libel case by proving that the information is considered “newsworthy.” According to the SPLC, “Almost any information about a well-known public figure or a public official will be considered newsworthy. Furthermore, reports of recent involvement in criminal behavior will be considered newsworthy for anyone.”
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Smith v. Daily Mail (1979) further defined what "newsworthiness" means.
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False light
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When a news organization portrays a person in such a way that they are not. The requirements for proving false light are: “highly offensive to a reasonable person” and the actor had knowledge of or acted in reckless disregard as to the falsity of the publicized matter and the false light in which the other would be placed.
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The one distinction from other libel cases in cases of false light is that the allegedly libelous statement must be proven to be “highly offensive.”
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Intrusion
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Intrusion occurs when a reporter gathers information about a person in a place where that person has a reasonable right to privacy. Reporters can be sued for intrusion even when they don’t publish the information. From the SPLC, the most common types of intrusion are trespassing, secret surveillance, and misrepresentation.
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Misappropriation
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Usage of a person’s photograph, name, likeness, voice, or endorsement to promote the sale of a commercial product or service without the person's consent.
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In every invasion of privacy case, consent from the person who is alleging was invaded can be used as a defense. However, if you use consent as a defense, you must make sure that you received consent from someone who is willing and legally able to give it. It is always a good idea to get consent in writing.
Minors can give consent, but they must be fully aware of what they are consenting to and sign a consent form. Here is a sample interview consent form by the SPLC for a minor.
Libel and Privacy Invasions
Libel is publishing a fact about someone that seriously harms their reputation.
Invasion of privacy is intruding into someone's private life without just cause.
Libel: What You Need To Know
-A pure opinion cannot be a libelous statement. "The teacher should be fired," is not libel. "The teacher should be fired because he has seven warrants out for his arrest across the country," can be considered libel.
-You cannot be protected from libel by including caveats such as "In my opinion," "It was reported as," or "According to..."
-The truthfulness of a statement is not a valid defense for libel. You can be reporting a completely true fact and still be sued for libel.
-You can still be sued for libel if you publish information or a direct quote from a third-party source.
Libel suits and universities
Public
-At public institutions, more First Amendment protections are guaranteed. Courts have consistently ruled that public universities cannot be held responsible for any statements made by student-run media so long as the university itself is not editing or censoring the publications.
-Ultimately, because public universities lack the ability to censor First Amendment protections, they are not legally responsible for libelous statements made by student organizations.
-At private institutions, while there may be policies that allow First Amendment protections to their students, they are not legally obligated to provide these and are not legally prohibited from censoring or editing student-run media.
-Therefore, unlike with public institutions, private institutions can be held liable vicariously for any libelous statements made by their student organizations.
-The surest way to avoid a libel suit is to employ good journalism ethics and be familiar with the law.