ABSTRACT
This chapter explores a variety of cases of unwanted attention to illustrate the sort of deliberative process. Some cases involve private facts in private places that are not newsworthy; some involve private facts that are newsworthy, or that are observed in a public place; and some involve public facts. Lars Thorwald’s privacy interest primarily involved informational privacy and a concern with his reputation. But private facts in private places often concern intimate activity and implicate other interests as well including dignity interests. A number of public facts are newsworthy and reporting about them does not implicate legitimate privacy interests. If the privacy interest is substantial, we would strictly scrutinize the reasons for permitting the speech and ask whether the intrusion upon privacy is necessary to convey newsworthy information. One may expect privacy even in such public facts if their publication would implicate one’s dignity; or one can have a legitimate interest in not having these facts memorialized and widely spread.
