Exam 3

Under the __________ approach, individual privacy safeguards are found in a patchwork of federal and state statutes that focus on the content and on who has the information.

Sectoral

Opt-____ means a company can use the personal information it gathers from a customer until the customer tells the company not to use it.

Out

Opt-____ means consumers *must affirmatively consent (say yes)* before the company can use the personal information it has gathered.

In

Harold L. Cross’ reasons that the public should have access to government records are based the First Amendment theory of ___________________________. \[Use the name of the theory, not the name of the theorist.\]

Political self-government

The U.S. Constitution guarantees an absolute right to privacy.

False

Samuel Warren and Louis Brandeis argued that truth should be a defense against an invasion of privacy claim.

False

Reporters have a greater First Amendment right of access to government records than the public.

False

Under FERPA, colleges receiving federal funds *cannot* release a student’s directory information without the student’s affirmative consent.

False

Under FERPA, colleges receiving federal funds must release law enforcement records even if students are involved.

True

The federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) exempts personnel, medical or similar records if the disclosure of such files would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

True

The federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requires full disclosure of records held by state and local governments unless the information is specifically exempted by statute.

False

Websites place text files, i.e., internet cookies, on visitors’ hard drives to store user preferences so the sites can be customized for each visitor.

True

 An Oklahoma statute permits employers to retaliate against employees who refuse to provide access to private social media accounts.

False

Samuel Warren and Louis Brandeis argued that the right to privacy is absolute.

False

Under FERPA, colleges receiving federal funds must release student grades to parents if those parents pay for the education.

False

Web browsers can be set to alert the user each time a website wants to download a cookie and to give the user the option to accept or deny the cookie.

True

An Oklahoma statute prohibits employers from requiring job applicants to disclose the usernames and passwords for their private social media accounts.

True

 President Biden’s July 8 executive order on protecting access to abortion services encouraged FTC Chair Lina Khan to consider actions to protect consumers’ privacy when seeking information about and the provision of abortion services.

True

President Biden’s July 8 executive order on protecting access to abortion services prohibited apps, brokers, Android devices and wireless carriers from collecting location data from the smartphones of women seeking abortions.

False

In addition to considering limitations on data collection, the FTC is considering limiting targeted advertising.

True

Under the _________ approach, consumer demand for privacy-enhancing products and policies leads to a competitive market that protects privacy without the need for governmental intervention.

Market

The U.S. Constitution *explicitly* guarantees the right to privacy.

False

An Oklahoma statute allows employers to force their employees and job candidates to access their private social media accounts in the employer’s presence.

False

The FTC says companies can use the information they collect from consumers to direct those consumers’ online experiences in ways that are rarely apparent and in ways that go well beyond merely providing the products or services for which consumers believe they sign up.

True

The FTC is seeking input on whether to regulate how companies collect, aggregate, protect, use, analyze, and retain consumer data, and how they transfer, share, sell, or otherwise monetize that data in ways that are unfair or deceptive.

True

Intrusion is *not* a publication tort because the *harm* *occurs* when 

Information is gathered

One defense against an intrusion lawsuit is that the information gathered was *newsworthy*.

False

In Oklahoma, the plaintiff has ______ year(s) in which to file an intrusion lawsuit.

2

For intrusion to *occur*, the ***plaintiff*** must have a ________ ________ of _________ at the time

Reasonable expectation of privacy

Secretly recording people in the public area of a business typically is *not* considered intrusion.

True

Under Oklahoma law, reporters may secretly record telephone calls to which they are a party or have the consent of one of the parties because Oklahoma is considered a ______________ state.

One-party consent

Under an FCC rule, television and radio reporters intending to broadcast a telephone conversation live or record it for later broadcast must tell the other party of that intention before doing so.

True

Police officers typically may order you to move away because you are recording them.

False

The 10th Circuit said video-recording is unambiguously the creation of speech protected by the First Amendment because otherwise the government could bypass the Constitution by simply proceeding upstream and damming the source of speech by stopping the video-recording.

True

HIPAA requires that police stop people from recording medical emergencies in public and arrest those who don’t stop.

False

A mother and her son were injured in an eight-car pileup on a stretch of Oklahoma highway where several fatality accidents have occurred in the past six months. A videographer for a TV news station doing a story about the dangerous highway recorded the mother and son as paramedics treated them on the highway right-of-way. The video was broadcast as part of the story. The mother sued the station for ***intrusion***, claiming that the video of her medical treatment violated her privacy. Station officials believe their videographer was entitled to take the video because the information was newsworthy and true. Will the ***mother*** *most likely win****?*** State Yes or No. Then explain WHY. Defend your answer using the information provided in the readings.

No, the mother will not win because she was in a public place and she does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy. HIPPA protects medical privacy, but doesn't apply to medical emergencies in public. However, the news station may not use news and truth as defenses.

One defense against an intrusion lawsuit is that the information gathered was true.

False

 News media are most likely protected when they disseminate information illegally obtained by third parties without the encouragement or involvement of the news media.

False

Police officers have a reasonable expectation of privacy when they exercise their official duties in public.

False

The 10th Circuit said peaceful recording of a traffic stop in a public space that does not interfere with the police officers’ performance of their duties is not reasonably subject to limitation.

True

A photographer for The O'Golly takes a picture of a man and woman passionately kissing on the steps of the Edmon Low Library. The photographer snaps their picture without their knowledge or consent. The next day, the photo appears on Page One of The O'Golly, illustrating a story about Valentine's Day. The man, Larry Litigious, is upset about the publication of the picture because that woman was not his wife and his wife saw the photo. He sues the newspaper for intrusion. The newspaper’s editor contended that the photographer was entitled to take the photos because the information was newsworthy and true. Will Litigious most likely win? State Yes or No. Then explain WHY. Defend your answer using the information provided in the readings.

No, Litigious is not likely to win. When in a public setting, there is no reasonable expectation of privacy.

Having recorded the person in *public* would be a defense against an intrusion lawsuit.

True

 A journalist would **MOST** likely commit *intrusion* when reposting pictures of a child from a publicly available Facebook page.

False

A journalist would **MOST** likely commit *intrusion* when going through someone’s garbage placed at the street.

False

Under an FCC rule, television and radio reporters intending to broadcast a telephone conversation live or record it for later broadcast may do so and tell the other party during the conversation or afterward.

False

 Independent recording of police officers is critical for ensuring police accountability and is best supported by the First Amendment theories of Political Self-Government and Checking Value.

True

The 10th Circuit said the First Amendment right to record police performing their duties in public is absolute, meaning it cannot be restricted.

False

The 10th Circuit said filming the police and other public officials as they perform their official duties acts as a watchdog of government activity and furthers debate on matters of public concern.

True

To win on public disclosure of private, embarrassing facts, the plaintiff must prove the information was *false*.

False

The 10th Circuit ruled that a photo taken at a public funeral service for a deceased soldier contained private facts about the plaintiffs' lives.

False

Oklahoma journalists have an *absolute* affirmative defense if the publicized facts were taken from

Public records

A defense is created if the plaintiff is in the ______, is an _____ in a ____, or where some _____ incident affecting the plaintiff is taking place or has taken place.

Public spotlight, is an actual participant in a public event, or where some newsworthy

Engaging in an activity that could be of general interest does *not* render every aspect of a person's life subject to public disclosure.

True

The 10th Circuit said the line is to be drawn when the publicity ceases to be the giving of information to which the public is entitled and becomes a morbid, sensational prying into private lives for its own sake with which a reasonable member of the public, with decent standards, would say that he had no concern.

True

Once a person’s activities become a matter of public interest, that person typically **cannot** revert to a private status.

True

In Oklahoma, a plaintiff most likely has ____ year(s) to file lawsuit for public disclosure of private, embarrassing facts.

2

Under the tort of public disclosure of private embarrassing facts in Oklahoma, the definition of *publicity* is met when the information is disseminated to a third party.

False

Clark Kent, a reporter for *The Toad Lick (Okla.) Tattler,* was investigating an allegation that Mayor Martin Humperdinck is a heroin addict. Kent knew that the mayor exercised at the local YMCA, so Kent began discretely exercising there. He followed Humperdinck into the dressing room one morning. Using a hidden video camera in a gym-bag, Kent recorded the mayor taking off his gym clothes and going into the shower. The recording showed red dots that looked like needle marks on Humperdinck’s left leg. The editors posted the allegation and video to the newspaper’s website.

A day later, Humperdinck admitted that he was a heroin addict and entered a drug rehab center. *Humperdinck* also *sued the newspaper* for **public disclosure of private, embarrassing facts** over its *publication of Kent's reporting of the allegation and the video* on the newspaper's website. The *editors* *believe* they had *not* committed the tort *because* the published allegation *was* *true*. **Will the** ***mayor most likely win?*** **State Yes or No. Explain WHY. Defend your answer by using the information provided in the readings.**

The mayor would not win because there is a concern for others.

Truth is the first defense against a claim of public disclosure of private, embarrassing facts.

False

In *Anderson v. Blake*, the 10th Circuit said the video clips of the sexual assault were *not* substantially related to a matter of legitimate public concern.

False

 The newsworthiness defense does *not* apply to information disseminated for purposes of amusement and entertainment.

False

 A person whose activities were once a matter of public interest typically ***can*** revert to private status if the person has gone to great lengths to avoid public scrutiny and apparently succeeded in retiring from public life.

False

Under the Open Records Act, Oklahomans are vested with the inherent right to ____ and be _______ about their government

Know and be fully informed

Under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, state and local government records are presumed to be open unless specifically, clearly exempted by statute.

True

Under Oklahoma Open Records Act, if a record contains some exempted information, the entire record may be withheld from public inspection.

False

Because of the Oklahoma Open Records Act’s purpose, public agencies and officials have a duty to provide records to the public.

True

Under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, the judge’s order sealing a case record must be kept from the public to protect the confidential or proprietary information being sealed in the case record.

False

Under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, communications among state legislators about legislation being considered are public records.

False

Under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, the public may access *only* records that government agencies are required by law to keep.

False

Under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, the public may access records of expenses incurred by legislators and legislative employees in the performance of their official duties and for which they are reimbursed.

True

If no statutory exemption exists under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, the judge may seal a court record only if a compelling privacy interest outweighs the public interest in access.

True

The home addresses, home telephone numbers, Social Security numbers, private email addresses, and private mobile phone numbers of current and former government employees considered are public records under the Oklahoma Open Records Act.

False

Under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, a document can be exempted by labeling it a “draft.”

False

Teacher plans, tests and other teaching material are considered public records under the Oklahoma Open Records Act.

False

Under the Oklahoma Open Records Act’s presumption, the public official denying access to a record must prove a statutory exemption clearly and specifically applies if the denial is challenged in court.

True

 The purpose of Oklahoma’s Open Records Act is to ensure and facilitate the public’s right of review and access to government records so they may _________ and __________  exercise their __________  , __________ , __________

Efficiently, intelligently, inherent political, power

 Given the intent of the Oklahoma Open Records Act, government agencies should favor *disclosing* a record instead of *withholding* it.

True

The Oklahoma Open Records Act creates a generalized right of informational privacy that blocks public access to government records containing personal information.

False

Under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, the fact that information may be available from an alternate source is *not* a reason to withhold a record.

True

Under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, books, photographs, maps and Excel files could be public records.

True

Under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, a public body must be supported in whole or in part by public funds or entrusted with the expenditure of public funds or administering or operating public property.

True

To seal a case record under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, the judge must use the most restrictive means of achieving confidentiality by closing the whole case file.

False

 Government employee salaries are public records under the Oklahoma Open Records Act.

True

 The Oklahoma Supreme Court said openness in government is essential to the functioning of a democracy because public access to government files permits checks against the arbitrary exercise of official power and secrecy in the political process, gives private citizens the ability to monitor the manner in which public officials discharge their public duties, and ensures those officials perform their duties in an honest, efficient, faithful, and competent manner.

True

Regardless of their content, email and text messages created or received on government officials’ privately owned email accounts and smartphones are *not* public under the Oklahoma Open Records Act.

False

University foundation and donor-related documents in the hands of public university officials are public under the Oklahoma Open Records Act.

False

The statutory definition of record under the Oklahoma Open Records Act is broad enough to include any method of memorializing information.

True

Under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, agencies may have a blanket policy of responding to records requests on a first-come, first-served basis in which requests are placed in a queue and completed one at a time in the order in which they are received.

False

Under the Open Records Act, state and local government records are open *only* to Oklahoma taxpayers.

False

Under the Open Records Act, requesters must be allowed to use their own copying equipment as long as that copying process does not unreasonably disrupt the essential functions of the public body or result in the defacing or loss of the records.

True

Under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, any delay in providing records must be limited solely to the time required to prepare the requested documents and to avoid excessive disruption of the public body’s essential functions.

True

An Oklahoma Attorney General Opinion said that under the state Open Records Act, government must make public records available where the record is maintained during the ordinary course of business.

True

Under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, government agencies decide how much to charge for copies after the records have been requested.

False

Under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, government agencies may *not* charge a *search* fee to the news media, scholars, authors, and taxpayers seeking to determine if government officials are doing their jobs honestly, faithfully and competently.

True

Under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, government agencies may *not* charge journalists for physical copies of records.

False

Under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, violating the Open Records Act is a misdemeanor­ punishable by up to one year­­ in jail and up to a $500 fine.

True

Government agencies can be held civilly liable for damages resulting from having released records in compliance with the Oklahoma Open Records Act.

False

 If a judge finds that the requester’s open records lawsuit was frivolous under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, the public body is entitled to having its reasonable attorney fees paid by the plaintiff.

True

Under the Open Records Act, the maximum government may **charge** ***no more than*** ***_______*** for an *uncertified* paper document sized 8 1/2 by 14 inches or smaller.

25 cents

 Under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, government bodies must designate an authorized employee to release records during *all* regular business hours of the public body.

True