FYLSX Defamation and Privacy Torts 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following is an example of an absolute privilege in defamation law?
- Statements made by journalists reporting on newsworthy events
- Statements made by a legislator during official legislative proceedings (Correct answer)
- Statements made by employers in employee reference letters
- Statements made between spouses in a private conversation
Correct answer: Statements made by a legislator during official legislative proceedings
Legislators enjoy an absolute privilege for statements made in the course of legislative proceedings, meaning the privilege cannot be defeated even by proof of actual malice.
Question 2: A qualified privilege in defamation law:
- Grants complete immunity regardless of the speaker's purpose or knowledge
- Protects statements made in furtherance of a legitimate interest but can be defeated by actual malice (Correct answer)
- Applies exclusively to media defendants in news-reporting contexts
- Has the same legal effect as an absolute privilege in most jurisdictions
Correct answer: Protects statements made in furtherance of a legitimate interest but can be defeated by actual malice
A qualified privilege shields certain socially valuable communications (e.g., job references, reports to authorities) but the protection is lost if the defendant acts with actual malice or uses the occasion for an improper purpose.
Question 3: Which invasion of privacy tort involves the defendant using the plaintiff's name or likeness for the defendant's commercial advantage without consent?
- Intrusion upon seclusion
- Public disclosure of private facts
- Appropriation (right of publicity) (Correct answer)
- False light
Correct answer: Appropriation (right of publicity)
Appropriation, also called the right of publicity, protects individuals from having their identity commercially exploited without authorization.
Question 4: For a claim of intrusion upon seclusion, the plaintiff must demonstrate:
- That the intrusive information was subsequently publicized
- An intentional intrusion into a matter in which the plaintiff had a reasonable expectation of privacy (Correct answer)
- That the defendant profited financially from the intrusion
- That the intrusion caused reputational harm to the plaintiff
Correct answer: An intentional intrusion into a matter in which the plaintiff had a reasonable expectation of privacy
Intrusion upon seclusion requires proof that the defendant intentionally intruded—physically or otherwise—into a space or matter in which the plaintiff reasonably expected privacy, and that the intrusion would be highly offensive to a reasonable person.
Question 5: The 'false light' invasion of privacy tort differs from defamation primarily because:
- False light requires the statement to be completely false; defamation can involve misleading truths
- False light focuses on the highly offensive nature of the portrayal, not necessarily reputational harm (Correct answer)
- False light claims are limited to public figures while defamation applies to everyone
- False light does not require any publication to third parties
Correct answer: False light focuses on the highly offensive nature of the portrayal, not necessarily reputational harm
False light protects against portrayals that place a person in a highly offensive false light in the public eye, even if they do not technically damage reputation, whereas defamation centers on reputational injury.
Question 6: Public disclosure of private facts requires that the disclosed information be:
- Completely false and damaging to the plaintiff's reputation
- True information that a reasonable person would find highly offensive to disclose publicly (Correct answer)
- Related exclusively to the plaintiff's professional or business activities
- Shared with an audience of at least 100 people
Correct answer: True information that a reasonable person would find highly offensive to disclose publicly
Unlike defamation, public disclosure of private facts involves the widespread publication of truthful but private information that a reasonable person would find highly offensive and which is not of legitimate public concern.
Question 7: Truth is generally NOT an effective defense to which invasion of privacy tort?
- False light
- Defamation
- Appropriation (Correct answer)
- Public disclosure of private facts
Correct answer: Appropriation
Appropriation liability arises from unauthorized commercial use of a person's identity, not from any false statement, so proving the likeness is accurate does not defeat the claim.
FYLSX Defamation and Privacy Torts 2
Which of the following is an example of an absolute privilege in defamation law?