Why, If Privacy Is So Important, Are the Damages for the Breach of Privacy So Low

Abstract

Privacy law in New Zealand is covered by a number of statutes, codes, and a common law tort. These cover different areas of privacy law, and each has its own damages and other remedies available. The types of harmful activity that need protection were outlined by the torts scholar William Prosser as: 1. Intrusion upon the plaintiff’s seclusion or solitude, or into his private affairs; 2. Public disclosure of embarrassing private facts about the plaintiff; 3. Publicity that places the plaintiff in a false light in the public eye; and 4. Appropriation, for the defendant’s advantage, of the plaintiff’s name or likeness The rights identified in 3 and 4 above, no longer fall under privacy law in New Zealand, instead these rights are covered by defamation (3) and advertising law (4). However, the other protections outlined by Prosser in 1960 still hold true today. This paper will consider the damages payable for breach of the various types of privacy and whether or not such damages are too low to effectively remedy any breaches of privacy rights.