Personal Information

The right of individuals to prevent the unauthorized disclosures of information concerning their private activities is one which is recognized, to a greater or lesser degree, in most common law and civil law countries. Increasingly this right is threatened by the general trend towards bringing more information into the public domain and by the activities of newspaper publishers and TV broadcasters who wish to see their ability to publish private information extended and protected. In this study, the author examines competing claims to privacy and publicity, revealing the extent to which the law affords protection to those who wish personal information to remain their personal property.Table of ContentPart 1 "Privacy" and "personal" information: the private and the public; defining "privacy"; an alternative approach; "personal" information; the economics of "personal information". Part 2 "Privacy, "personal information" and the law: the American law; the American common law and "personal information"; the English law; "personal information" as "property". Part 3 "Personal information" and breach of confidence: the action for breach of confidence; cases involving "personal information"; breach of confidence and "personal information". Part 4 Measuring the extent of the problem. Part 5 The public disclosure of "personal information": the conventional analysis; the alternative analysis. Part 6 The collection of "personal information": the problems; the remedies; data banks and "personal information". Part 7 "Personal information" and intrusion: spying and electronic surveillance; telephone-tapping; interception of correspondence; searches and other physical intrusions; gathering of information by the news media; exclusion of evidence improperly obtained.