Privacy and Invasion of Privacy

Privacy is the ability not to be seen, observed or disturbed by other people. It lets someone keep parts of their life out of the public eye, free from unwanted attention and interference, such as time with family, what happens at home and private messages.

The law recognises a right to respect for a person's private and family life, their home and their messages (including letters, emails and calls). This does not mean a person can never be photographed or filmed. The right is not absolute: if you are in a public place, you may be seen or recorded by others. A media producer therefore has to balance the freedom to record with the privacy rights of the people who might appear in their images.

Invasion of privacy

Invasion of privacy happens when media producers intrude on a person's private life or private space without justification. The key word is justification: recording something that is genuinely in the public interest may be defensible, while intruding simply to get a more dramatic shot is not.

Homes and gardens are private spaces. Filming into private property without permission can invade privacy, even if the camera is held in a public place. For example, a drone flying over a garden fence to film a family's party intrudes on space where people reasonably expect to be left alone.

What producers must consider

Before recording, a media producer should ask whether the person has a reasonable expectation of privacy in that situation. A crowd at an outdoor event may be recorded as part of the scene, but a person relaxing in their own garden is in a private space. The producer must decide whether the recording respects the person's privacy, and whether any intrusion can be justified.