Target 11: Your privacy on the Internet

PITTSBURGH -- These days it seems everyone has a cellphone with a camera. In an instant, your picture can be snapped and uploaded toFacebook, Twitter or any other social media site for millions to see, and you may never know about it.

So what are your rights? Do you have any rights if someone takes your picture without your permission?

  Target 11 Investigator Rick Earle talked to a legal expert to get some answers.

Earle discovered that in most cases it depends on where the photo or video was taken. If it was taken in public on sidewalk or in a restaurant, chances are there's not much you can do about it. But if the images were snapped in your own home or in a private setting like a bathroom or bedroom, you have some protections.

During the past couple of months; we've seen cases where pictures and videos have been taken without a subject's permission. In one case, a man allegedly photographed a woman and her young daughter in the restroom of a store in Jefferson Hills. In another case, a man recorded videos of women in a tanning salon and posted those videos of the naked women online.

Both of these cases are clear violations of the law that led to criminal charges. But Target 11 discovered that in many cases when your picture is snapped, even in embarrassing situations, you probably won't have any legal recourse.

  Earle went to University of Pittsburgh Assistant Law Professor George Pike to learn more about this issue.


"You're walking down the street with your fly open; you walk out of an adult book store. You're walking with someone maybe your wife don't want you walking with not much you can do about that. You're at a party, you get drunk and you do something embarrassing there and somebody films you and takes a picture and puts it on YouTube, not much privacy there because you are in a public environment. There are other people witnessing and watching what you are doing," said Pike.

But Pike told Earle that all changes if you are in your home or any other private setting like a restroom where you have an expectation of privacy.

If someone takes a photo or shoots video of you inside your home, chances are you probably have a pretty good case for an invasion of privacy lawsuit.

And you may even have a criminal case. But Earle discovered it gets a bit more complicated if the images are posted online.

The video or image must be considered offensive by a reasonable person. For example, you're caught in a compromising or embarrassing situation.

With all of these scenarios you have several options. You can file a lawsuit against the person who took the video or posted it. You can also ask the website to remove the image. You might have to fill out some forms explaining your position. But there is one thing you won't have any luck doing---going after the websites where the images are posted. They are protected.

"It was an exception that was created in the earlier days of the Internet in order to facilitate the development of things like Facebook and YouTube. If they had to worry about every image, about being libel for every image posted it would exist," said Pike.

There are also some other issues to consider. You have legal recourse if a photo of you is used for commercial purposes without your permission and if an image of you is used and it portrays you in a false light.

If someone is posting false statements along with the images, you may also be able to sue for defamation.