Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

[Gina Norman <gina AT vnet.net>]

> Maybe I'm mixing up privacy
> and libel.

It's been a long time since I've taken media law, but if I remember
correctly, something can only be libel if it's untrue.  So, if it is
provable that I buy Harlequin Romances (store receipts, photos of me
buying them, etc.) , it can't be libelous to say that in a news story.

Privacy (from a media legality standpoint) only comes into play around the
methods that are used to gather information.  If information has been
given to a paper (by a law enforcement agency) than the paper has not
broken any privacy laws in publishing it.  If, OTOH, the paper hacks into
someone's computer to get their surfing history, then you get into fuzzy
legal space.  (I won't go into it hre, but there are some interesting
debates around the boundaries of what can be considered "private" as
technology can increasingly do more than what the naked eye or ear could.

(Again with the caveat that it's been years since I've studied this).

Journalistic *ethics* are another ball of wax entirely....

YMMV,

Gina


> Another thing that bugs me is that if it weren't for the connection that
> Chandra had to the senator, we wouldn't even know about this.  She would be
> just another missing girl on the other side of the country...
>
> Just my $.02,
> Dallas
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "David Wagoner" <dbwagoner AT yahoo.com>
> To: "InterNetWorkers" <internetworkers AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
> Sent: Monday, July 23, 2001 11:51 AM
> Subject: [internetworkers] RE: internetworkers digest: July 21, 2001
>
>
> > That's an interesting argument, but I don't feel the
> > same way.
> >
> > Let's say, for example, that I am a married man with
> > children and I get murdered.  Let's also assume that I
> > am a closet homosexual and frequently look at gay porn
> > on the web but I have not revealed any of this to
> > family or friends.  Now, if I am murdered then the
> > authorities can perform an autopsy on my body
> > searching for murder clues but they wouldn't know
> > about my gay tendencies.  However, if they searched my
> > computer they would certainly find out and most likely
> > leak private information that I did not want
> > publicized.  That's where I see a distinction in the
> > privacy issue- searching my body is different than
> > searching my mind (i.e., my computer in this case).
> >
> >
> > david
>
>
>
> ---
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~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
My brain seems to have a circuit-breaker-like mechanism that, when I get
confused and befuddled by the overwhelming monstrosities of my life,
causes a default to the simplest and most pleasant of thoughts.  Like
Marshmallow Peeps.  I *like* Marshmallow Peeps.

Gina Norman                                      And the only bit that
gina AT vnet.net (me personally)                    really matters:
ginanorm AT nortelnetworks.com (me at work)         http://users.vnet.net/gina
gina AT earthling.net (me personally, again -- sick of me yet?  ;)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~;)~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*