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Do I have an invasion of privacy claim?
Invasion of privacy
Congress and the Mississippi Legislature have passed many laws to prevent invasion of privacy. These include wrongfully intercepting phone calls, hacking into email, and similar interference with digital information.
At the same time, Mississippi has long-recognized common law claims (i.e., court-made law) for invasion of privacy. This body of law precedes the internet, computers and cell phones.
Mississippi common law recognizes four types of invasion of privacy claims.
- The intentional intrusion upon the solitude or seclusion of another. This can take several forms, but the most common is the “peeping tom.” With today’s technology, it can also include improper filming of others without their knowledge.
- Holding another to the public eye in a false light. This is similar to libel and slander, but it can also include wrongfully creating an unfavorable impression about a person.
- Public disclosure of private facts. You may have heard the phrase “truth is an absolute defense,” but that is not always the case. People do not have an absolute right to spread information about you if that information is private, not of legitimate concern to the public, and when the spreading of the information would be highly offensive to a reasonable person. (Read more about public disclosure of private facts here.)
- Misappropriation of a person’s identity for an commercial use. Often, this involves a company using the picture of a famous person in an advertisement without that person’s consent. But, there are other instances in which one person may be guilty of using another person’s identity.
Wrongful invasion of privacy can cause a person to suffer emotionally and financially. If you are the victim of such an invasion, be aware that Mississippi places strict limitations on how long you have to file suit.
If your privacy has been wrongfully invaded, call the Panter Law Firm at 601-607-3156 for a consultation.
The post Do I have an invasion of privacy claim? appeared first on Panter Law Firm, PLLC.
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