As a journalist, you are always keen to get the latest scoop. However, when reporting on information relating to an individual it is important to consider their right to privacy.
Privacy has only been a legal consideration since the Human Rights Act of 1998, which incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights into law.
There are two parts of the convention which conflict with each other.
Article 8 of European Convention of Human Rights of 1998 guarantees a right to privacy: “Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.”
Meanwhile, Article 10 guarantees the right to freedom of expression to impart information if publication in public interest.
Article 10 states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include the freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority.”
To overcome this conflict, in any privacy case a judge will consider two things:
1.Is there a reasonable expectation of privacy?
2.If yes, is in that case the right to privacy more important than the newspaper’s right to freedom of expression?
Privacy is also an issue covered by the IPSO Editors’ Code of Conduct. You can read about the code here.