Jour 371 Test 3

Hannah, an aspiring actor, was overjoyed to receive an email offering her a second audition for a part in a new Spielberg movie. She tweeted, "The casting director was a weirdo, but I don't care. She wants to look at me again." A few minutes later, Hannah got a second email. It said there had been an error and she did not need to come for a second audition. It was signed, "The Weirdo." As it happened, one of Hannah's followers had retweeted the tweet and the follower was followed by the casting director. Hannah felt her communication was private and wants to sue for invasion of privacy. What does the law say?

A person has no privacy claim to any information the person places on the internet.

According to the U.S. Constitution,

A right of privacy arises implicitly in the Bill of Rights

As regards reporting the identity of victims of sex-related offenses, the most common media practice today is:

Adhere to the perference of the victim

Where can privacy law be found?

All of the above: common law torts, U.S. Constitution, statutes and regulations

Ernie was really happy about his new job as a news reporter. One day while he was at the courthouse, a judge said to him, "I can give you some solid information about how much the clerk of courts is stealing if you promise never to tell anyone I told you." Ernie should:

Be cautious. Journalists do not have an absolute privilege when it comes to revealing sources.

What is it about the privacy torts known as "false light" and "publicity about private facts" that gives the law (courts) the most trouble?

Both involve publishing truthful information.

Bob used a photo of famous football player Brady Manning in advertising for his sporting goods store without Brady Manning's knowledge or permission. It didn't help. After two years, Bob decided to close the store due to declining sales. About the same time, Brady Manning's agent saw Bob's advertising and filed suit, claiming a violation of Brady Manning's right of publicity. What result? Why?

Brady wins, does not matter if it increased sales or not

Julie was the crime reporter for the Tuscaloosa Times. As part of her duties, she was instructed to check the county's digital archives for previous arrests every time authorities made a newsworthy new arrest. One day, prosecutors announced indictments of three people for embezzling funds from the restaurant where they worked. She checked the archives for all three names and confirmed that one of them, Bruce Farmington, had previously been charged with arson. Her story including, "For one of those accused, Bruce Farmington, the charge was a second felony. Records show he was arrested for arson in 2012." As it happened, Farmington was completely cleared in the arson case, but that fact did not appear in the digital archive. What tort has the Times committed?

False light

Bob worked in marketing for Bigold Bank. He needed an image of a person with an honest face, so he searched Google with the words, "honest face." He found one he liked and used it in the bank's promotional materials. As it turned out, the face was that of an elementary school teacher whose image was placed on the internet when she won a Teacher of the Year award. Sadly, not long after receiving the award the teacher was run over by a school bus and killed. By happenstance, her family sees Bigold Bank's promotional materials and is horrified. They know they didn't get permission and they know their loved one would be embarrassed. They want to sue Bigold Bank for commercial appropriation. Will they win?

collect no damages

In a two-party state,

everyone is made aware

For media practitioners, the First Amendment provides:

nothing special

When it comes to trespassing on private property,

property owner has the right to require anyone to leave

What basic question does the current Supreme Court ask when it comes to personal privacy?

public intent

The key question in an intrusion upon seclusion case is:

reasonable person have same expectation of privacy

As a default position (nothing otherwise indicated), FERPA and HIPAA allow the release of:

Directory information

If considering using stealth to obtain information, a journalist, according to the Poynter Institute and the Society of Professional Journalists, should:

-Information is profoundly important -All alternative have been exhausted -Hands are completely clean -The harm inherent in the intrusion is overcome by the good done by revealing what was found -There has been a multi-person discussion and analysis of the pros and cons

Since she was a young girl, everybody told Cindy she had the face of a model. She didn't think anything about it. One day, she was walking through the Memphis airport and saw a poster/advertisement for Southeast Airways that included the image of a smiling flight attendant. Cindy thought the photo looked familiar, then suddenly realized it was a photo of her. The photo had been cur and pasted from her Facebook profile image. It had been altered to add a flight attendant blouse, but it was clearly her. What does the law say?

All the elements of commercialization, also known as commercial appropriation of a plaintiff's name or likeness are present. Cindy should win damages.

Which of the following is an accurate statement about Americans' attitude about privacy?

Americans have no constant, fixed definition of privacy 3 contexts (autonomy, space, information) Americans are more protective of privacy from government intrusion or monitoring People don't like being tracked (or tricked) but like being helped

Which of the following best describes "record" under the Mississippi Open Records Act?

Any documentary material, regardless of form or characteristics

Which of the following accurately describes Americans' attitudes about privacy over the decades?

Attitudes have trended one way and then the other. Like a pendulum.

Ed puts the trash from his donut shop into a waste bin in an alley behind the business. An ice cream shop across the street uses the same waste bin. One day, Fred, who owned the ice cream shop was tossing in his trash when he noticed a ledger with Ed's payroll records inside. He looked at it and saw Ed wasn't even paying minimum wage. Over the next few weeks, Fred was able to hire away all of Ed's best workers. One of them told Ed that Fred found out how much he was being paid and made a better offer. That infuriated Ed who consider his business payroll private information. He sues for invasion of privacy. What do you know about this situation?

Business cant sue for privacy

Your boss tells you, "Devise something we can post on social media to determine from little kids what they want for Christmas." You say:

COPPA

Which of the following technologies creates the risk that consumers will believe their privacy is being compromised?

Cell phones can track everywhere a person goes.

Jerry likes his free gmail account, but is tired of all the ads that appear, seemingly targeted to him personally. He does a bit of research and learns that Google is scanning his personal emails for key words and using those key words to sell advertising that does, in fact, target him as a likely prospect. He decides to sue Google for invasion of his privacy. Google's best legal defense is:

Consent

The only absolute defense to a privary claim is:

Consent

Over time, Benny became increasingly aggravated at the number of commercial messages popping up in his social media accounts. He can tell, based on the messages, that his posts are being tracked or "mined" to create a profile of his interests, but this doesn't please him. He decides to sue the platforms for invasion of privacy. What will be their defense?

Consent.

In most cases, answering a simple question can indicate whether a public record or meeting may or even should be closed to the public. That question is:

Does secrecy benefit the public?

What does the Electronic Communications Privacy Act say?

Eavesdropping or intercepting cell phone conversations is subject to the same restrictions as eavesdropping or intercepting wired phone conversations.

Which of the following is most likely a lawful order when police and first responders are present?

Get out of the way

Mabel was the 10 p.m. anchor for Action News. After the newscast one night, she went to WalMart to pick up some milk and eggs for breakfast. As she turned into the parking lot, she saw two masked men running out the door, firing weapons as they got into a Nissan. The next night, detectives assigned to the case heard her talking about the experience in banter during the newscast. They prepare a subpoena for Mabel insisting that she appear and, under oath, give a statement about what she saw. Mabel should:

Go where the subpoena directs at the appointed time and tell what she saw.

Jill walks into the office breakroom and discovers Bob coughing, struggling to catch his breath. She asks if if is OK and he says, "Don't tell anybody, but I've been having increasing difficulty breathing." Later that day, the boss tells Jill he's sending Bob to Denver for a month for training on new software the company is purchasing. Jill, who loves snow skiiing, pipes up and says, "I don't know if that would be good. He has lung problems and being at that altitude may make his breathing condition worse." The boss says, "OK, well, you go." Later, Bob hears about this chain of events and wants to sue Jill for violating HIPAA. What do you think?

HIPPA is only for healthcare providers

Using the reasonable person standard, which of the following could most likely lead to a successful intrusion lawsuit?

Hacking into a computer.

The hotel in which Sam was staying had a workout room for guests. Adjacent to the room was a locker area where guests could change clothes, shower and store valuables. While putting on his socks, Sam glanced as the ceiling and saw a video camera. When he got dressed, he went to ask the hotel manager about the camera. The manager said, "Yes, we had been having a problem with guests stealing from the lockers, so we put the camera up to record 24 hours/day. But don't worry, we only look at the recordings if there's a reported theft and we don't show them to anyone." Sam wants to sue the hotel for invasion of his privacy. What does the law say?

He will win if he had a reasonable expectation of privacy

To whom do the provisions of HIPPA apply?

Health-care providers

What is the value proposition that describes the relationship between social media platforms and their members?

Marketing information in exchange for news and/or entertainment.

Bob's Pancakes offers the "Quarterback Stack." On the top pancake, the chef creates an unmistakable silhouette of Eli Manning. Is this a violation of Eli's right of publicity?

If eli was used to sell pancakes

Larry was balding and had a beer belly. He knew these things but was still shocked and embarrassed on Labor Day when a TV news crew showed him frolicking on the beach in its report on the official last day of summer. At work the next day, several of his friends suggested he go on a diet. He felt humiliated and told them that if he had seen the news crew he would have made sure they shot no video of him. Should he sue?

If he does, he will lose under the news exception.

Barney's Barbecue contacted famed actor Morgan Freeman's agent about Freeman recording a voice-over commercial for the restaurant. When Barney, the restaurant owner, was told the actor's fee, he was amazed and told all his friends that Freeman wanted $1 million for a 30-second voice-over. One of the friends said, "Hey, I go to church with a guy who sounds just like Freeman. He'll make your commercial for free." Barney contacted the friend who agreed to record the commercial. Nowhere in the script did the friend make any reference to Morgan Freeman or use his name, but he really did sound just like the actor. As it happened, Freeman's agent heard the commercial and sent Barney a bill for $1 million. What does the law say?

If the intent was to have people think Freeman was speaking for the restaurant (and it clearly was) Barney will have to pay.

What's the central difference between public disclosure of private facts and libel?

In public disclosure of private facts, the disclosure is true while libel is based on false statements of fact

The publisher of The Daily Mississippian had an idea. The paper is free on campus to anyone, but she thought alumni would pay to have daily papers mailed to them, in print, from their alma mater. Too, it would be a great new revenue source because subscribers would pay $12 per month. She asked the ad staff to come up with a marketing tool. They did. In the next edition of the Alumni News magazine, which is mailed to all graduates, there was a full page advertisement with the words, "Subscribe to The Daily Mississippian" across the top. In designing the advertisement, the staff had looked back through previous issues to gather diverse and interesting front pages. One of these front pages included a really good photo of Taylor Swift, a famous singer, who had appeared in concert on the campus. That front page, along with others, was shown in the advertisement. As it happened, Taylor Swift saw the advertisement and felt her image was being used to sell subscriptions. She had not endorsed the newspaper or agreed to appear in its advertising. What does the law say about this?

Incidental use. Booth rule. Not compensable to Swift.

Ed lived in Manhattan and liked to read outdoors. Central Park was his favorite place, but he found that whenever he sat on a bench, people would come up and interrupt him. Because of this, he often left the pathways and found isolated places to sit. One pretty spring day, he was reading when he heard a buzzing sound. He looked up and saw a drone flying over. He didn't think any more about it until he saw the aerial video of the park being shown on a giant screen in Times Square, including a zoomed-in shot of his face. He wants to sue based on intrusion. What does the law say?

It will depend on whether his expectation of privacy was objectively reasonable.

Ernie was the manager for OUT buses. He wanted to spruce up the appearance of the fleet, so he went to a marketing agency for advice. They told him about brightly colored "wraps," which were really popular for vehicles. Ernie thought this was a great idea and remembered a picture of a student, Bobbette, boarding a bus that he had seen in The Daily Mississippian. He copied the photo of Bobbette and the bus from their website, and designed a bus wrap with the photo and the words, "RIDE OUT: Safe, Clean, On Time." Bobbette, a junior history major, was a very private person. Ernie contacted the DM, which gave permission to use the photo. He also contacted Bobbette and asked for her permission. What do you think?

It's up to Bobbette

Lucinda proudly walked off the Grove Stage with her IMC degree and into an $80,000 job as a marketing researcher for Delicious Candies. On her first day, her boss said, "In order to meet production deadlines, we need to know what types of candy we can make to increase our Christmas sales. Your assignment is to find out what kids like." Lucinda made an A in Media Law, so she knows:

Lucinda knows she will have to be creative because a federal statute prohibits harvesting marketing information directly from preteens.

Radicals were suspected of planting a tear gas bomb in a night club where gay people were the majority of clients. As the gas filled the club, patrons streamed out onto the street. As the intern on duty for the local TV station, you start pulling video from social media that shows the faces of the people fleeing the area. You post this video behind the station's pay wall. New subscriptions flood in from people who want to see the videos. The boss congratulates you for making tens of thousands of dollars in new revenue for the station. In following days, many of the people who were in the videos are fired from their jobs as school teachers and such based on their employers believing them to be gay. They want to sue you for making money off their images. Will they win?

News exception

Taylor Swift, a famous singer, was spotted sitting on the Farley Hall steps drinking a Coke and looking out at the Grove. The next morning The Daily Mississippian newspaper had a photo of Swift swilling the beverage. That afternoon, Coke sales skyrocketed with every student on campus carrying a bottle in order to be like the famous singer. Swift's agent believes she is entitled to a share of Coke's increased profits. What words should come to your mind?

News exception

Professor Lorraine Weld of the Department of Art and Professor Larry Smoot of Mechnical Engineering are photographed walking across the Grove, smiling. Sunlight is streaking through the trees laden with leaves in full fall colors. It is a spectacular photo. The Daily Mississippian prints it on the front page with the caption, "Beautiful Autumn Weather Enjoyed By All," but Smoot and Weld are not happy and feel embarrassed by the photo because they didn't give their permission. Do they have a case against the newspaper?

No

Frank and Ernest owned competing Honda dealerships in New Orleans. Frank suspected that some of his customers would get a written price quote on a new car from him, then take it to his competitor who would offer the same vehicle for $100 less. This, Frank knew, was a violation of the contract Honda had with its dealerships. They were supposed to be mutually supportive and not undercut each other. To prove his belief, Frank got one of his cousins to take a fake price quote to Ernest to see what Ernest would do. As expected, Ernest offered the cousin the same vehicle for $100 less. After Frank confronted Ernest with the evidence, Ernest sued Frank for violation of his dealership's privacy. Does he have a valid case?

No. Businesses can't make privacy claims.

Allison was really interested in the death penalty. She was in the archives looking up the history of executions in her state and had her radio on. A commercial aired for Richie Cunningham for Governor, calling himself the law and order candidate. The name struck her as odd because she'd just seen a record where a Richard Cunningham was hanged as a horse thief in 1835 . Her interest piqued, she went to Ancestry.com and discovered the candidate for governor was a direct descendant of the horse thief. She told her friend, who happened to be a reporter, about this and the reporter called the Cunningham campaign office and asked, "Is it true that Richie's ancestor was a horse thief?" A few minutes later, the candidate himself called and said, "Look. If you report that I'll sue you for public disclosure of private facts." Have the elements been met? In what way?

No. Information in any public record remains public and never becomes a private fact

Paul Finebaum, a famous television sports show host, decided to shop for a new car one weekend when he was in Oxford. A photographer for the Oxford Eagle newspaper spotted Finebaum looking at the sticker on a Jeep Wrangler and took a photo. It appeared in the next day's edition with the caption, "TV host Paul Finebaum was spotted shopping for cars in Oxford." As it happened, Finebaum had a cult-like following in Oxford and by 5 p.m. the next day his fans had all flocked to the dealership and bought every Jeep Wrangler in stock. Finebaum hears about this and thinks his right of publicity has been taken. Is he correct?

No. News exception

Eli Manning, a famous football player, was shopping for a new car in Oxford and a Daily Mississippian photographer took his photo while he was looking at the window sticker of a Jeep. The newspaper used the photo with the caption, "Eli Manning was in Oxford and was spotted shopping for a new ride." After the photo appears, Manning's fans flock to the Jeep store and buy every vehicle, wanting to be more like their sports idol. The dealership had never had such sales volume in one day - ever. Manning's agent sees the photo and hears about what happened and wants to sue for appropriation of his famous client's name or likeness. Does he have a case? Why?

No. News exception.

Judy Finestrom was exploring the Square in Oxford with her friends. They went into Square Books to browse. Suddenly, her friends started giggling. They had picked up a novel in which the main character was named Judy Finestrom and was a prostitute. Judy Finestrom, who is not a prostitute, is horrified and embarrassed. She wants to sue the author for appropriation of her name for trade purposes. Will she prevail?

No. On the facts this appears to be an incidental use, which is not compensable.

Everybody at the pool agreed that Bob, a lifeguard at the Hilton Beach Hotel, had the kind of body a lifeguard should have. People were always taking his photo while he sat in the lifeguard stand. Outside a restaurant one night, he picked up one of those free "local attractions" magazines. As he flipped through, he saw a photo of himself sitting in the stand, looking really professional, to illustrate a story about the most effective remedies for sunburn. Based on the fact that he was once required to take a Media Law class, he thinks using his photo without his permission was a violation of his privacy. Is he right?

No. The news exception applies

Eddie was an intrepid reporter. He saw a photo on Instagram of the mayor holding her new baby in her hospital room and knew that he couldn't use it, so he went into to the hospital, went into the mayor's room and, without asking, took a photo of her with her baby. She screamed, and as he backed out the door he suddenly remembered waking up in Media Law class and hearing something about intrusion upon seclusion and hospitals. He immediately reformatted his camera card and erased the photo. Should he breathe a sigh of relief?

No. The tort of intrusion on seclusion is complete if the intrusion would be offensive to a reasonable person. Nothing has to be published.

At the end of a closed session, members of a Mississippi school district board of trustees returned to open session and the board president announced that the contract of Superintendent Walker Percy had been extended four years. Lula, a teacher in the school district, asked how each board member voted. The board president responded that the actual vote was taken in closed session, so how members voted is private. Is the president right?

No. Under Mississippi law, votes taken during closed sessions must be detailed in public

Mary Ann, a top high school athlete, was offered a full scholarship to play soccer for Hardemince University. Upon hearing the news, she tweeted, "Their team stinks and their coach is a real nitwit, so I think I can make a valuable contribution." About two hours later, the Athletic Department phoned and informed Mary Ann that, based on the Tweet, the scholarship offer was canceled. Mary Ann thinks her privacy was invaded. Was it? What rule applies?

No. When a person voluntarily places information in a public space, the person has no claim that the information is private.

Bob posts on Facebook that he's been having difficulty breathing and might see a doctor about it. One of Bob's coworkers, Jill, is his friend on Facebook. She sees this post. At work that week, the boss tells Jill he's sending Bob to Denver for a month for training on new software the company is purchasing. Jill, who loves snow skiiing, pipes up and says, "I don't know if that would be good. He has lung problems and being at that altitude may make his breathing condition worse." The boss says, "OK, well, you go." Later, Bob hears about this chain of events and wants to sue Jill for public disclosure of private facts. What's the legal situation?

None. Bob put on the internet

Jane emailed her tight circle of friends and said, "I'm very embarrassed about this, but I want you to know our family has had some setbacks and we may have to file for bankruptcy." The next Sunday, she was in church when the minister was offering prayers for the people and said, "... and we need to remember Jane and her family who are having financial difficulties." Jane is horrified. She wants to sue for public disclosure of private facts. What does the law say?

Once she disclosed the information to others, she can no longer legally claim the information is private.

Martha, a student, was sitting on the Farley Hall steps drinking a Diet Coke and looking at her notes from class. The next week she was shocked, surprised and even a little embarrassed to see her photo in a Daily Mississippian newspaper advertisement with the caption, "Diet Coke, the No. 1 Choice of Ole Miss Students." She called the newspaper, outraged, and said, "What made you think you could use my photo without my permission?" You have taken JOUR 371 so you explain the law...

Oops. This was an appropriation of your name or likeness for trade purposes. We're guilty of that.

Betsy was an IMC major who, during the summer, delivered cakes for her family's bakery. One day, she took a birthday cake to a party for a seven-year-old. The children were so cute when they saw the special cake; they were all smiling and happy. Betsy captured this on her smart phone, but was smart enough to know that before she posted it on the bakery's social media page she needed:

Permission of a parent or guardian of each child.

Myrtle was excited about a call-back for a second interview regarding her application to become a first-grade teacher. She shared this news on Instagram and added a photo of the elementary school. She captioned it, "This is where I may be making life hard on little creeps next year!" Shortly after she posted this, she got a text from the school board, canceling her second interview and telling her she was no longer under consideration for the position. She asked why and the response was, "The superintendent has an alert set so that any time the school's name is on the internet, she receives an email with a link. She didn't think your post reflected the attitude we desire in faculty members." Myrtle thought her comments only went to people she selected. This illustrates:

Personal information anyone places on the internet cannot be considered private

The prime directive for any marketing professional is

Place the most effective message in front of the most likely "customers" at the least possible cost

While daydreaming in Media Law class, Bob had an epiphany. He would move to a small town named Taylor and open a hamburger shop that specialized in speedy service. He would call his business "Taylor Swiftburgers," intending to capitalize on the singer's popularity. He just knew her fans would come from miles around to buy a hamburger with her name on it. Bob brings his dream to fruition and one day attorneys for Taylor Swift show up on his doorstep. Do they have a cause of action against Bob?

Profit from name or likeness

John Grisham is a very famous author who formerly lived in Oxford and attended the University of Mississippi School of Law. As a student, he resided in LuxWorld apartments. The apartment manager learns this fact, places a new sign out front that says, "LuxWorld: Live Where John Grisham Lived." This is a violation of John Grisham's:

Right of publicity

The Poynter test for the appropriate use of steal includes:

Sharing the plan/idea with others to get their advice

Right after graduation, Marcie was hired as marketing director for Fun Time Playground Equipment. The company has an innovative design-build approach. Representatives meet with school kids and get their ideas, then use those ideas to create location-specific designs. Marcie concluded the best way to share information and build excitement about the company's novel approach was to make a short video at an elementary school where a project had been completed. She hired a video crew and went to such a school, told them what she was doing and interviewed teachers and kids, then edited it all into a neat package. Her bosses were very impressed. Did she forget anything?

She needed model releases from the parents/guardians of the kids.

The church where Lula was a member encouraged confession of sins. There were small rooms where people could sit, with the pastor on the other side of a screen, and speak openly about wrongdoing. One day when Lula was confessing her sins, she happened to look toward the ceiling and see a video camera. She was shocked and surprised and asked about it. The pastor said the church had experienced a problem with people taking money from donations boxes and said the cameras were on 24 hours a day as a precaution. She wants to sue the church for invasion of her privacy. What does the law say?

She will win if it appears she had a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Wendy is a college student. Her father has a business baking birthday cakes. One day, he sends Wendy to deliver a cake and she is blown away by the decorations the birthday child's mother has prepared. After she places the cake in the center of the table, she turns to the mom and asks, "May I shoot some video of this to use in my father's TV commercial?" The mother says, "Yes, definitely." She takes out her smartphone and turns to the 20 children, saying, "I'm going to take your picture for TV. Is that OK? Y'all smile." The children all say yes and Wendy shoots the video. The next day Wendy goes to media law class and learns...​

She's in trouble because children can't give legal consent to appear in advertising

Todd, a student, was sitting on the Farley steps drinking a Coke and looking at his notes from class. It was a very hot day. The next day he was shocked, surprised and even a little embarrassed to see his photo on the front page of The Daily Mississippian newspaper with the caption, "Another Scorcher." It got even worse when his girlfriend called and chewed him out because he had promised to give up sugary sodas. Todd called the newspaper, outraged, and said, "What made you think you could use my photo without my permission?" You answer the phone and so you say...

Sorry. We meant no offense, but no laws were broken

To boost sales in her purse store, Billy Jean bought a life-size poster of pop star Michael Jackson, cut it out an glued it to a piece of plywood, also cut to the outline of the deceased singer's body. As it happened one of Jackson's arms was outstretched so that Billy Jean could hang purses from it. When she learned about this, an attorney for Michael Jackson's estate sued Billy Jean for appropriation. Billy Jean filed an answer to the lawsuit, saying the idea didn't work. No purses were sold from the Michael Jackson display. What does the law say?

The Jackson estate wins. It doesn't matter whether sales increased. What matters is this was Billy Jean's intent.

The best resource on open government in Mississippi is

The Mississippi Ethics Commission

Jeff was on the marketing staff for CNN. He used the news network's analytics to determine which images were most popular with viewers. He selected one of them, heartwarming video of a child rushing to greet her parent returning from a combat zone, and used it in a 10-second promo encouraging people to watch CNN. The soldier in the video was a bit embarrassed when the clip first aired, thinking his privacy had been invaded. An attorney, however, said CNN could legally use the video as news, even though it was a private family moment. After seeing the promo, the soldier returned to the attorney and said, "Well, I understand about the news aspect, but I didn't agree to appear in their commercial." What happens next?

The attorney explains the Booth Rule.

False light differs from libel in that:

The published information is true.

Alice Jones opened a restaurant in Memphis and called it "Alice's Restaurant." Alice Smith had the same idea at the same time and opened her restaurant, also called "Alice's Restaurant," on the same day at the same time. Despite the coincidence, Alice iJones files a lawsuit against Alice Smith claiming a privacy interest in the name. What is the l​aw here?

There may be legal issues, but they can't be decided on privacy grounds. Privacy cases involve people, not companies

The problem with some so-called rape shield laws is:

They are a prior restraint

Which of the following best describes the general public's use of stealth in making audio or video recordings?

They don't like it

Everybody told Lori she had an honest face. She didn't think much about it. One day, when driving to her workplace, she was surprised to see that her Facebook profile photo had been used on a billboard advertisement for a bank. The display did not include her name. The wording on the billboard said, "Finance your next car with us. We are people you can trust!" What are the rules?

This is the classic appropriation for trade purposes case. It meets all the elements.

Everybody told Susie she had an honest face. She didn't think much about it. One day, when driving to her workplace, she was surprised to see that her Facebook profile photo had been used on a billboard advertisement for a bank. The display did not include her name. The wording on the billboard said, "Finance your next car with us. We are people you can trust!" What are the rules?

This is the classic appropriation for trade purposes case. It meets all the elements.

All the construction workers on Fred's crew wore white helmets except Fred. His was blue. One day as he was carrying more supplies into the construction area, he noticed a drone flying overhead. He didn't think anything about it. A few weeks later, he started getting texts from friends saying, "Hey, you're in the new ABC Construction Company TV advertisement!" Fred made a point of watching the ad and, sure enough his blue helmet was clearly visible in the drone video used in the ad. Fred was a private person and was somewhat annoyed by the attention. He talks to you about an appropriation lawsuit. Based on the rules you have learned, what would be the correct thing to tell him?

This was incidental use, likely too slight to fit the definition of appropriation.

Buster is really excited that he has graduated and landed a job paying $80,000/year plus bonuses. On his first day at work as a marketing specialist at Action Apps, Buster's supervisor welcomes him to the team. "We're glad you are here. Our research shows elementary school kids are increasingly being given smart phones and we want to tap into that market. Design an app for them that we can use to market products." You say:

This will take some thought. The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act prohibits marketing to youths under 13

-recording (audio or video) public meetings in Mississippi is legal if not intrusive -Mississippi is a one-party state -continuing to take photos after first responders arrive at the scene of an emergency is legal T or F

True

How does one determine whether there's been an intrusion upon seclusion?

Whether the plaintiff had a reasonable expectation of privacy

The Electronic Communications Privacy Act treats cell phones the same as:

Wired phones

Paul Finebaum, a famous television sports show host, decided to shop for a new car one weekend when he was in Oxford. A salesman at the Jeep dealership took a photo of Finebaum looking at the sticker on a Wrangler. The dealership used the photo in an ad with the caption, "Shop With Us. Paul Finebaum does." Finebaum hears about this and thinks his right of publicity has been taken. Is he correct?

Yes, whether sales increased or not.

Everybody at the pool agreed that Bob, a lifeguard at the Hilton Beach Hotel, had the kind of body a lifeguard should have. People were always taking his photo while he sat in the lifeguard stand. Outside a restaurant one night, he picked up one of those free "local attractions" magazines. As he flipped through, he saw a clear photo of himself sitting in the stand, looking really professional, in an advertisement for Hilton Hotel. Based on the fact that he was once required to take a Media Law class, he thinks using his photo without his permission was a violation of his privacy. Is he right?

Yes. All of the elements are there.

Allan was an alcoholic and had been treated several times for alcohol abuse. Sadly, he went on a binge one night and police stopped him and arrested him on a second offense charge of driving while intoxicated. Allan was lucky enough to have gotten a job and really wanted to keep it. He knew he would be fired if word got out about his arrest. Thinking quickly, he said, "I am an alcoholic, which is a medical condition. I would like to invoke my HIPAA right to medical privacy. Do not tell anyone I am here." Anything wrong with this request?

Yes. HIPAA applies to medical service providers. The police department is not a medical service provider, so is not bound to HIPAA requirements

Irving Berlin was a Ph.D. student writing his dissertation on term limits for people in elective office. One fact he needed was the average length of service of members of the legislatures in each state. He wrote to the Secretary of State of Mississippi, after being told that office managed service records, and asked for records showing the current senators and representatives and information showing how long each one had been in the Legislature. Two weeks went by and he had received no response, so he phone.

Yes. Mississippi law says offices must respond within seven days in writing

Willie Morris is a very famous author who once lived in Oxford and taught at the University of Mississippi. He died several years ago. One time, the house were he lived came up for sale. The real estate agent found out about the famous former resident and advertised, "Home of famed author Willie Morris for sale on Country Club Drive in Oxford." Any problem with this?

Yes. This is a violation of Willie Morris' (or his heirs') right of publicity.

What to HIPAA and FERPA have in common?

allow permissive release of 'directory information' Both must provide opt-out provisions that would block release of directory information

In deciding whether to disclose victim identities in sex-related criminal cases (rape/battery/assault), the best practice model now used by media is:

ascertain the wishes of the victim (if an adult)

The publisher of The Daily Mississippian had an idea. The paper is free on campus to anyone, but she thought alumni would pay to have daily papers mailed to them, in print, from their alma mater. Too, it would be a great new revenue source because subscribers would pay $12 per month. She asked the ad staff to come up with a marketing tool. They did. In the next edition of the Alumni News magazine, which is mailed to all graduates, there was a full page advertisement with the words, "Subscribe to The Daily Mississippian" across the top. In designing the advertisement, the staff had looked back through previous issues to gather diverse and interesting front pages. One of these front pages included a really good photo of Taylor Swift, a famous singer, who had appeared in concert on the campus. That front page, along with others, was sho

incidental use. Booth rule. Not compensable to Swift.

The best description of the Booth Rule is:

initial use, otherwise it does not violate

The most compelling response to a claim of invasion of privacy is:

you consented