Law lecture/reading five: Confidentiality

Within in the concept of confidentiality  there are three main areas; state secrets, commercal secrets and privacy.
Privacy can be considered the new libel. Under section 58 of the human rights act, privacy is the right to the enjoyment of 'normal' family life. Therefore writing about someones private life is not permitted.
Confidentiality refers to secrets, which can then be split into two; state secrets - all under the official secrets act. The OSA prevents some forms of investigative journalism, publication of anything under this act can lead to prosecution.
Commercial secrets - people have the right to keep secrets, but not those that are considered to be against the public interest.  People the right to expect certain people to be confidential depends upon their relationship, a doctor would be required to not breach confidence.
Injunctions on peoples confidence can be put into place to stop publication of certain secrets which are thought to be THIRD PARTY breach of confidence (information given by a third party to a journalist) though this is also considered to be a crime. 

Someone who feels their confidence had been breached must show that they have been harmed, unlike defamtion where they must prove that they could be harmed. For something to be a true invasion of privacy, the information which is thought to breach confidence must have all of the following:

1. quality of confidence  AND…
2. circumstances AND…
3. no permission to reveal AND…
4. cause actual detriment.

Gagging clauses -  if a person is employed by another for wages  they owe the employer a common law “duty of confidence” - even if this is not specified in a contract, and even if there is no contract. So if any secret information is released, even unknowingly, action can be taken by the employer.