Media Law: Privacy and Libel Flashcards

Practice vocabulary flashcards covering privacy torts, landmark privacy cases, libel elements, fault standards, public figure designations, and defenses.

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)

The landmark SCOTUS ruling that overturned Estelle Griswold's conviction and declared Connecticut's ban on contraceptives unconstitutional, rooted in the 14th Amendment Equal Protection argument.

Roe v. Wade (1973)

The SCOTUS decision involving plaintiff Norma McCorvey (Jane Roe) and Dallas County District Attorney Henry Wade that applied Griswold to hold that criminalizing abortion violated the right to privacy.

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org. (2022)

The SCOTUS ruling that essentially overturned Roe v. Wade, returning abortion regulation authority to individual states.

Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)

The SCOTUS case that established the right to marry extends to same-sex couples, resolving a circuit split after the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declared same-sex marriage illegal.

Lawrence v. Texas (2003)

The landmark SCOTUS ruling that struck down a Texas sodomy law and legalized same-sex sexual activity.

Four Privacy Torts

The modern framework of torts recognized in privacy law: appropriation, intrusion, publication of private information, and false light (which do not apply to businesses).

Appropriation

A privacy tort involving the unauthorized commercial use of a person's name or likeness (such as photos, sketches, or stage names) for advertising and trade purposes.

Right of Publicity

The recognized right of individuals to control the commercial exploitation of their names and images; unlike the general right of privacy, it survives death and can be inherited like property.

Intrusion

A privacy tort that focuses directly on the newsgathering process rather than the publication itself.

Mark v. KING Broadcasting (1980)

A legal precedent establishing that if an individual can be viewed in a public space, they may legally be filmed or photographed.

Glik v. Cunniffe (2011)

A ruling affirming that citizens possess a constitutional right to videotape police officers in public spaces.

One-Party Consent State

A legal jurisdiction, such as Kansas, in which it is legal to record audio or photograph without the consent of all parties involved.

Publication of Private Information

A privacy tort requiring proof that private facts were publicized, that the material was offensive to a reasonable person, and that there was no legitimate public concern or interest in the information.

Involuntary Public Figure

An individual who involuntarily becomes newsworthy or is thrust into the public spotlight simply by being caught up in a major news event.

False Light

A privacy tort prohibiting the highly offensive publication of false statements about an individual with fault (negligence or actual malice), which does not require proof of damage to reputation.

Defamation

A communication that injures another individual's reputation; categorized into written defamation (libel) and spoken defamation (slander).

Libel

The publication or broadcast of a false statement that injures someone else’s reputation and/or lowers that person’s esteem in the community.

Libel Per Se

Words or characterizations that are defamatory on their face without external context, such as 'liar', 'thief', or 'cheat'.

Libel Per Quod

Statements or characterizations that appear innocent on their face but become defamatory when understood in a specific context.

Single Mistake Rule

A legal doctrine from Bowes v. Magna Concepts (1990) establishing that reporting a single error or botched deal by a professional is not inherently defamatory, provided it does not suggest a pattern of incompetence.

New York Times v. Sullivan (1964)

The landmark SCOTUS ruling overturning a $500,000$ award against the New York Times, establishing for the first time that public officials must prove fault (actual malice) in a libel suit.

Actual Malice

The legal fault standard requiring a libel plaintiff to prove that a defamatory statement was published with knowledge of its falsity or with reckless disregard for the truth.

All-Purpose Public Figure

An individual occupying a position of pervasive power and influence (such as Johnny Carson or Wayne Newton) who must always prove actual malice in a libel lawsuit.

Limited Public Figure

An individual who has voluntarily thrust themselves to the forefront of a particular public controversy to influence its resolution.

Negligence

A fault standard in tort and libel law defined as the failure to exercise ordinary care.

Reckless Disregard for the Truth

A state of mind in libel where the defendant published defamatory content with a 'high degree of awareness of the probable falsity' of the material.

Statute of Limitations for Libel

The statutory deadline barring libel claims not brought within one year from the date of publication.

Rhetorical Hyperbole

A libel defense protecting language that is so loose, expansive, and exaggerated that a reasonable reader or listener recognizes it as opinion rather than a factual assertion.

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996

Federal statute shielding interactive computer service providers and users from publisher liability for third-party content, provided they are not the content creators.