Confidentiality Law PDF

What is confidentiality? Confidentiality affirms the principle that when someone has obtained information in confidence, it should not be taken advantage of. It is a powerful tool against people who leak information to the media What is confidential information? Something that a reasonable person m...

What is confidentiality? Confidentiality affirms the principle that when someone has obtained information in confidence, it should not be taken advantage of. It is a powerful tool against people who leak information to the media What is confidential information? Something that a reasonable person might think was private and it must have some degree of importance. For example, trade secrets, sex lives, health and medical treatments (cancer, rehab etc) diaries, company finances, personal photographs. YOU CAN GET AN INJUNCTION (gagging order) usually the judge only hears the complainants story. Might be an interim injunction to stop publication. Publisher can and will challenge. Injunction covers all media. Ignoring injunction = being held in contempt of court. Parliamentary privilege = legislators are granted from freedom from civil or criminal proceedings for things said in parliament. Means media can then name someone. E.g. Sir philip Green and the NDA’s Confidentiality = civil matter. NOT LEGAL. Dealt with in civil courts with a jury Legal = official secrets act. However the government now uses confidentiality to prevent the publication of official secrets. THE LAW A journalist who is leaked - or somehow comes across - commercially sensitive information or medical records for example has a duty not to reveal it unless they can argue a defence. DOES NOT have to be a direct link for the court to enforce the law of confidentiallity. What is a breach of confidence? Complainant has to show a high court judge that a publisher has broken the TRIPLE TEST - established by Mr Justice Megarry in 1968. CITE Coco v AN Clark (Engineers) Ltd ] 1) Obligation of confidence Information must have been given in circumstances that imposed an obligation of confidence to the owner of the information. Who is under obligation? Can arise in a variety of ways E.g. employer/employee - contractual agreement. husband/wife - marital obligations of confidence friends sharing a house/colleageues in a newsroom. Unethical behaviour e.g. trespassing or stealing is in breach of confidentiality. 2) Quality of confidence Generally information is not confidential if it is trivial e.g. a company canteen menu or is already in the public domain. Its about the importance of the information. Document being labelled as confidential doesnt mean shit. 3) Detriment - is the publication detrimental to the owner of the confidential information? DEFENCES 1) Consent 2) The information is already in the public domain 3) Public interest - Exposure of iniquity/ negligence/crime/ hypocrisy - General public interest OR correcting a false image