Ratio Decidendi
The tort of misuse of private information protects information in respect of which a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy. The court must balance the claimant's right to privacy (ECHR Article 8) against the defendant's right to freedom of expression (Article 10), applying a proportionality test.
Fakty
The Daily Mirror published articles revealing that the supermodel Naomi Campbell was a drug addict, was receiving treatment at Narcotics Anonymous, and included photographs of her leaving an NA meeting. Campbell accepted the newspaper was entitled to publish the fact of her addiction (she had publicly denied drug use) but argued the details of her treatment and the photographs were private.
Podsumowanie orzeczenia
The House of Lords held (3–2) that publication of the details of Campbell's treatment and the photographs constituted misuse of private information. While the newspaper was entitled to correct her public denials by revealing the addiction, the additional details of her treatment at NA were private and their publication was disproportionate. The case established misuse of private information as a distinct cause of action.
Kluczowe cytaty
"The widespread publication of a photograph of someone who is not, by normal standards, a public figure is in itself capable of being an infringement of the right of privacy."
— Baroness Hale
Późniejsze zastosowanie
The leading authority on misuse of private information, applied in numerous privacy cases including Murray v Express Newspapers [2008] and Google v Vidal-Hall [2015].