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    Digital Journalist's Legal Guide
    Tablet and mobile phone showing news online

    Everything online journalists need to protect their legal rights. This free resource culls from all Reporters Committee resources and includes exclusive content on digital media law issues.

    Privacy

    This section covers the right of privacy under state law. Most state laws attempt to strike a balance between the individual’s right to privacy and the public interest in freedom of the press. The two primary types of invasion of privacy actions are intrusion upon seclusion and publication of private facts. You can also be liable for portraying someone in a false light, misappropriating their image or likeness, violating their right of publicity, or even for fraud or trespass over gathering the news. This section also covers recording of phone calls and conversations, and videotaping in public places.

    Vermont

    There is little privacy law in Vermont, although the Vermont Supreme Court has implied that the state would recognize the four torts.

    A primer on invasion of privacy

    The question of when the coverage and reporting of news becomes an invasion of privacy is a difficult one, especially for photographers and videographers.

    Reporting news stories in a way that serves and informs the public will often entail publicizing facts or displaying images that will embarrass or anger someone.

    To make privacy matters even more difficult for journalists, courts constantly redefine what is private based upon interpretations of the elusive legal standard of a “reasonable expectation of privacy.”

    Indiana

    Indiana has recognized the four privacy torts. Its misappropriation statute, Ind. Code § 32-13 (1994), was repealed in 2002.

    New Jersey

    New Jersey recognizes the four privacy torts.

    Intrusion: An article about a home sale that included a picture of the home was not actionable as intrusion because the photograph was taken from a public street, and the view was available to any bystander. Bisbee v. Conover, 452 A.2d 689 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 1982).

    Virginia

    Virginia recognizes only the misappropriation tort. Virginia Code § 8.01-40.

    Misappropriation:The publication of a photograph of a prisoner sleeping in his cell was protected from a claim for invasion of privacy under the federal Civil Rights Act because prisoners surrender most aspects of their right to privacy while incarcerated. , 8 Med. L. Rptr. 1403 (W.D. Va. 1981).