Media and Privacy

A person’s right to privacy is the right to be left alone. A citizen has the right to safeguard the privacy of himself and his family. This right can extend to all aspects of an individual’s personal life (as opposed to things that the public may have an interest in knowing). It follows that a person in the public spotlight (be it as a politician or celebrity) will enjoy a degree of protection that is less than that applicable to the common man. 

Every person has the right to enjoy his life without any interference. However, the degree of right to privacy varies from person to person. A public figure, who functions under public gaze as an emissary/representative of the public cannot expect to be afforded the same degree of privacy as a private person.Media can bring the acts of these personalities to public knowledge.

The acts of public personalities are not afforded the same level of protection. The public has a right to know about the acts and conducts of the public officials as they work for the benefit of the public. Therefore if the acts and conduct of the public person are of public interest even if conducted in private they may be brought to public knowledge through the medium of the press. 

The media person has however, a corresponding duty to ensure that the information about such acts and conduct of public interest of the public person is obtained through fair means. It should be properly verified and then reported accurately.

A public personality has to pay the price for being in the eye 0f the public. However, this does not mean that the media can publish any information it receives. The information has to be verifiable and accurate. The essential ingredient required for the publication is that it has to in public interest.

 Any information which is not available in the public domain is termed as private. Private information can be related to the family, education, marriage of the person or any other personal information.

The Right to Information Act defines information as any material in any form, and information relating to any private body which can be accessed by a public authority under any other law for the time being in force. This information is public information. Any other information would be termed as private information.

The perception regarding what is private information varies from person to person. But whether the objection will be sustained or not will depend upon the facts and circumstances of the case. If information regarding the private individual is accessible by a public authority then it would be public information. Moreover, if any private information is published in the larger interest of the public then the objection would not be upheld by the concerned authorities.

 

The maintenance of privacy is important for every individual. Thus, if information is disclosed merely on the fact that people want to know about that issue then the right to privacy has no meaning. The only justification for breach of privacy in such a case is where the publication of information was in public interest. The interest of the public must outweigh the individual interest.

 A journalist cannot publish information only on the demand of the public. If he does so then he can be held liable for breach of privacy by the person. The larger interest of the public has to be necessary for avoiding liability.

To prevent breach of privacy there are certain steps which the journalist can take. The journalist has to verify whether or not the information is in public domain. If not, then the publication of the private information can be done only after the person regarding whom the information has given his consent for publication of the information. Where the consent is not obtained then the publication of the private information can only be done in the case where the protection of the public interest outweighs the protection of the right to privacy.