Invasion of Privacy & Ethics
Claire Kerstetter
Legal Definition
Invasion of Privacy-the intrusion into the personal life of another, without just cause, which can give the person whose privacy has been invaded a right to bring a lawsuit for damages against the person or entity that intruded.
It encompasses workplace monitoring, Internet privacy, data collection, and other means of disseminating private information.
More about Invasion of Privacy
Celebrities are not protected in most situations since they have voluntarily placed themselves already within the public eye, and their activities are considered newsworthy.
Non-Public Individual's Rights
Privacy from:
- Intrusion on one's solitude or into one's private affairs
- Public disclosure of embarrassing private information
- Publicity which puts him/her in a false light to the public
- Appropriation of one's name or picture for personal or commercial advantage
Introduction
Definition of Ethics
How is Invasion of Privacy legally defined?
What are Ethics?
Examples of cases.
- The discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation
- A set of moral principles: a theory or system of moral values
- The principles of conduct governing an individual or a group
- A guiding philosophy
- A consciousness of moral importance
- A set of moral issues or aspects
Case Example 1
Student Accused of Invasion of Privacy at Princeton
- Fellow student accused him of taking sexually explicit photographs of him while he slept
- Photos didn't seem to be send to anyone else or posted online
- Accused surrendered to police, but did not plead guilty
Conclusion
Invasion of privacy is often a breach in an individual's ethics which can lead to serious action taken by the law.
Case Example 2
Student at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ charged with Invasion of Privacy
- Set up a webcam to capture his roommate in an intimate encounter with a man
- Invited friends to watch
- Victim committed suicide shortly after
- Accused was convicted of invasion of privacy, among other charges & sentenced to 30 days in jail