Confidentiality is a civil law. This means that it is harmful to an individual as they have a right to keep secrets and pass them on to those they choose to in private – providing of course that the secret is not in the public interest.
Certain professions have a duty not to disclose personal information confided in them, such as Doctors, lawyers and employees etc. Failure to keep such information is therefore a breach of confidence and a claimant has a right to lodge a civil complaint, most likely in a bid for compensation. If information becomes available through a breach of confidence to a Third Party (such as a journalist who may wish to publish such a story) the claimant can apply for an injunction to prevent such an article being published.
Certain professions have a duty not to disclose personal information confided in them, such as Doctors, lawyers and employees etc. Failure to keep such information is therefore a breach of confidence and a claimant has a right to lodge a civil complaint, most likely in a bid for compensation. If information becomes available through a breach of confidence to a Third Party (such as a journalist who may wish to publish such a story) the claimant can apply for an injunction to prevent such an article being published.
Secrecy is a criminal law, including examples such as revealing a military secret without permission and is treated as a much more serious crime. The Official Secrets Act 1911 outlined the duty of confidentiality owed to the UK State and the need to punish those who leak unauthorised information of a sensitive nature. Journalists must be aware of such risks when publishing material concerning the military or information regarding terrorism in particular.
The Official Secrets Act has been accidently broken on a number of occasions. Often a film crew taking a ‘general view’ shot of a military base for example has unintentionally portrayed an area that may disclose private information of use to organisations wishing to harm the UK and this could be considered a crime. To try to prevent this most military bases have large signs forbidding the filming of certain areas in any circumstance. Similarly announcing Armed Forces returns should also be checked before publishing as military location is also considered a government secret.
Businesses also have certain protection rights regarding their commercial activity in The Commercial Confidentiality Statute. For a business to file a claim against someone found guilty of disclosing private information they must prove that the information is important, was imparted in circumstances implying confidentiality, that no permission was given for the information to be published and that the information caused actual detriment.
The Human Rights Act outlines the need for an individual to have a certain degree of privacy in their family life. This often applies to celebrities in particular and it is considered a breach of privacy if photos or videos are published without consent, unless a public duty is being performed.
The are two types of consent; Explicit Consent – which shows an awareness of the camera and Implied Consent – where a person is looking into the camera and posing for it etc.
As a journalistic defence implied consent is generally the stronger defence should a claimant file for a breach of privacy against a photograph being published.
The are two types of consent; Explicit Consent – which shows an awareness of the camera and Implied Consent – where a person is looking into the camera and posing for it etc.
As a journalistic defence implied consent is generally the stronger defence should a claimant file for a breach of privacy against a photograph being published.
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