Invasion Of Privacy Examples

SOSC 3365 Exam

Jasmin Gill

212 584 660

Cody Willet

AP/SOSC 3365

1. You are on the street eating a hotdog. Without your permission someone takes an embarrassing picture of you with the hotdog in your mouth and your face smeared with mustard and then posts it on Facebook. You demand the picture be removed from Facebook, arguing that this is an invasion of your privacy. On what basis can you make the claim that you are entitled to privacy this situation?

Privacy is a complex concept with no universal definition as its meaning changes with society. Invasion of privacy occurs when there is an intrusion upon the reasonable expectation to be left alone. There has been a growing debate about the legitimacy of privacy in public

Going back to the example of the dog poop girl, she would be justified in claiming an invasion of privacy as she was negatively characterized. The scope of law needs to expand to protect the reputation of an individual. Invasion of privacy occurs if one is portrayed falsely and in a highly offensive manner. As in the hot dog example the taking of the photograph was not a violation of privacy, however posting it online to ridicule the individual is. Privacy may also be invaded if the photo was taken by someone who intruded in a situation in which, there was a reasonable expectation of privacy -- for example, in your own home, public restroom. It is not an invasion of privacy to photograph someone in a public place or at any event where the public is invited. However, posting the messy hot dog picture is defamatory -- that is, it creates a false impression and injures your reputation. Furthermore, the fact that an unmodified photo is unflattering is not enough to claim defamation. The photo must falsely portray and must cause people in the community to think less of a person to warrant a claim. Campell v. MGN Limitted, 2004 UK is another example of how images posted online can defame. Naomi Campbell used drugs and threw the phone at her assistant. Pictures were made public to portray a bad image about her. Naomi Campbell would warrant a privacy claim on these grounds, as would I in the situation of the hotdog stand. Another reason to stop the use of the photograph is known as the right of publicity. This occurs if the image is used for commercial purposes such as to sell products or to imply that you endorse a product. An example would be if the messy hot dog image was used to advertise the hot dog stand. If the photo is used in a commercial website the unauthorized use of your image would violate the right of