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Invasion of Privacy – Statutory Actions

Invasion of Privacy–Statutory Actions

Invasion of Privacy–Statutory Actions

The law provides everyone with some basic rights to privacy. Privacy is the general right to be left alone and free from unwanted publicity. Unreasonable invasion of one’s privacy can cause harm.

In addition to the four main judicially-created lawsuits for invasion of privacy — appropriation, false light, intrusion, and disclosure — remedies for invasion of privacy have been created by legislation. This article discusses some of the lawsuits for invasion of privacy created by the Congress of the United States.

Federal Statutory Lawsuits For Invasion of Privacy

Your attorney can determine if one or more of the following federal statutory lawsuits for invasion of privacy applies to you and your particular situation (the title’s initial “The” — if any — is omitted):

  • Cable Communications Act (1984) — Without consumer consent, certain consumer choices and personal information cannot be disclosed by a cable company;
  • Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (1998) — The online collection of information from children is limited;
  • Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act (1988) — Government officials can increase the amount of information they collect if the safeguards against disclosure also increase;
  • Drivers’ Privacy Protection Act (1994) — The ability of government officials to sell driver’s license records is limited;
  • Electronic Communications Privacy Act (1986) — Communications services are prohibited from releasing the content of messages they transmit;
  • Electronic Fund Transfer Act (1978) — When disclosing customer records to third parties, banks must notify the customer;
  • Fair Credit Reporting Act (1970) — Consumers can try to correct errors in their credit reports.
  • Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”) (1974) — The ability of a school to release information about a student is limited;
  • Privacy Act (1974) — Government officials may not gather information or maintain files not relevant to a lawful purpose;
  • Privacy Protection Act (1980) — The ability of government officials to seize print media records is limited;
  • Right to Financial Privacy Act (1978) — To obtain a bank’s copies of checks, government officials need a warrant;
  • Telephone Consumer Protection Act (1991) — Without consent, telemarketers are prohibited from using automatically dialed telephone calls to sell a product; and
  • Video Privacy Protection Act (1988) — Without consumer consent, certain consumer choices and personal information cannot be disclosed by a video rental company.

Copyright 2011 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.