Public Disclosure of Private Facts


The public disclosure of private facts privacy tort involves the publication of embarrassing private facts.

  • facts publicized must be so embarrassing that a reasonable person would be offended by their publication
  • disclosures must be true
  • must be truly private
  • courts have applied a newsworthy defense to this tort
    • allows the media to report on newsworthy incidents without fearing a lawsuit for public disclosure of private facts