Misuse of Private Information

English courts developed misuse of private information from the older equitable doctrine of breach of confidence, but it now operates as a freestanding tort focused squarely on privacy rather than confidentiality as such. The High Court's approach in SKA v CRH illustrates the tort's structure in practice: the case was 'the trial of an action for misuse of private information arising out of a threat to disclose private information concerning the claimants unless a substantial sum of money was paid', with the claimants seeking an injunction 'to restrain the disclosure of this information and continuing harassment.'

Deciding such claims requires the court to balance competing Convention rights: the judgment records that the court must carry out 'the balancing exercise... as between the claimants' Article 8 rights, the defendant's Article 10 rights and the issue of the public domain', and on the facts found that 'the information is private; no good grounds have been advanced which could justify disclosure pursuant to Article 10.' Where a claimant's privacy interest is strong and there is no countervailing public interest in disclosure, courts will readily restrain the threatened misuse — including, as here, threats made for the purposes of extortion.