data protection in newspapers

bigtomw

Hi all,

Just looking for some information regarding as to whether newspapers can print your details without permission, a family member was recently a large sum in a court settlement, their details were later printed in a national newspaper withe their name, address and amount they were awarded and also details of her case, would this be a data protection breach or are they just simply aloud to do this

bigtomw

*awarded a large sum*

seamus

No, this wouldn't be a data protection breach. The award was made in open court, so is in effect public knowledge.

Atlantic Dawn

They are allowed to do this. If they settled out of court the figure would be hidden but there details would still be printed.

hullaballoo

We have justice administered in public in this country which means that they can print what they like in most cases unless the case is in camera or there's reporting restrictions put in place by the judge.

That said, it's excessive to print so much personal information. It's tasteless, voyeuristic and crass. Pretty much standard fare for Irish news outlets, though.

seamus

hullaballoo wrote: »

We have justice administered in public in this country which means that they can print what they like in most cases unless the case is in camera or there's reporting restrictions put in place by the judge.

That said, it's excessive to print so much personal information. It's tasteless, voyeuristic and crass. Pretty much standard fare for Irish news outlets, though.

I wonder how much of a factor this is in settlements - "Look, if the court awards you €10m, you're going to have your name in the paper and the amount you were given. If you settle now for €7.5m, it's all over and your neighbours will never know how much you won".

bigtomw

Thanks for all your reply lads,