Open book: An analysis of the celebrity's right to privacy

• Main Authors: Domino, Jenny Jean B., Razon, Arin Kristopher A.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2014
• Subjects: Privacy, Right of—Philippines; Celebrities—Legal status, laws, etc.—Philippines; Privacy Law
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/11347
• Institution: De La Salle University

The proliferation of video-sharing websites such as YouTube and Facebook has not only democratized the channels by which public information is disseminated but has also facilitated the mode through which private facts are disclosed. This phenomenon has resultantly created a new platform on which public figures promote or advance their particular affairs. It has also created new ways for enterprising individuals to commit violations of privacy, which put to the fore the question of whether or not public figures are still entitled to such right given this new contextual landscape.The paper reexamines the delicate balance between public interest and the right to privacy of public figures, specifically, celebrities. This paper asserts that, despite the easier accessibility of private facts relating to celebrities, there are still certain situations that remain within the mantle of protection accorded by the right to privacy.The paper proposes that in instances where videos of private affairs are uploaded for public consumption, two distinct violations of privacy are committed: (1) the act of obtaining the private fact, and (2) the act of uploading it on the Internet. The paper will then test the efficacy of the existing legal framework on the right to privacy as applied to recent privacy controversies concerning celebrities. Using the first two torts propounded by William L. Prosser, the paper submits that the violations of privacy committed against celebrities are commonly done in a two-tiered process: (a) by intrusion upon personal space and (b) by public disclosure of embarrassing private facts. The paper, however, emphasizes that the applicability of these two torts has been modified in light of the current social, technological, and cultural milieu. The scope of the protection of the right to privacy with respect to intrusion upon personal space of celebrities in particular inevitably indicates whether or not a privacy violation has been committed. However, given the unique position of celebrities, where their personal affairs contribute as much as their professional abilities to their fame and success, the scope of protection must be determined by looking, not into the content of the private fact disclosed, but rather, into the means by which such information was accessed, as well as the context or surrounding circumstances of the incident giving rise to a privacy issue.Lastly, the paper will discuss possible remedies under Philippine law as well as articulate their discrepancies. Particular focus will be given to issues of liability in the context of videos anonymously uploaded online.