For over one hundred years, Georgia has recognized the right to privacy as a component of the rights of personal security and personal liberty. When the right to privacy is violated, Georgia law provides a means for the victim to recover from the offender.

Georgia law provides four different causes of action for an invasion of privacy. The first is an intrusion upon the plaintiff's seclusion or into his or her private affairs. This cause of action requires a physical intrusion similar to the tort of trespass. A court is unlikely to allow recovery under this tort for an invasion into a plaintiff's psychological state. However, highly personal questions or demands by an authority figure may be enough to constitute an intrusion upon seclusion. In addition, this tort requires that the intrusion into private concerns must be offensive or objectionable to a reasonable person. Included in this cause of action is unauthorized surveillance. Activities such as eavesdropping and wiretapping can be enough to hold an offender liable.

The second cause of action is the public disclosure of private facts. In order for a plaintiff to succeed, the disclosure must first be public. The facts disclosed must also be private or secret. Finally, the facts disclosed must be objectionable and offensive to the reasonable person. This tort carries many exceptions and defenses. For instance, a plaintiff who waived his or her privacy in regards to a certain matter may not be able to bring a successful suit. In addition, information that is part of the public record such as court proceedings are generally not actionable. News stories and public investigations that disclose the circumstances of a crime are also generally protected.

The third cause of action for an invasion of privacy is known as false light publicity which was created to protect an individual's reputation. A plaintiff must prove three elements to succeed under this claim. First, there must be false publicity that shows the plaintiff as something or someone that he or she is not. Second, it must be shown that the false light the plaintiff was placed in would be highly offensive to a reasonable person. Generally, a plaintiff must also show actual malice on the part of the offender to overcome the right to free speech. Again, the focus is on a reasonable person. A hypersensitive individual will not be protected if a reasonable person would not consider the false light to be highly offensive. Additionally, a mere opinion about an individual is generally not enough to bring a successful action.

The fourth tort is the appropriation of a name or likeness. This tort mainly involves taking on the name or likeness of another for commercial exploitation and is rooted in publicity rights rather than privacy. For public figures, this right of publicity survives death and is inheritable. However, there are limitations. Normally, if a plaintiff cannot exploit his own name or likeness for financial gain, he cannot sue another for appropriating his name or image by publishing it. Furthermore, if the defendant never receives any value or advantage by using the plaintiff's name or likeness, there are generally no grounds for an appropriation suit.

Intrusion upon seclusion, disclosure, and false light actions do not require proof of special damages in order to recover general damages such as loss of reputation. In contrast, damages for wrongful appropriation are not measured by the injury to the plaintiff's reputation. Instead, damages for wrongful appropriation are measured by the benefit the offender attained by appropriating the plaintiff's name or likeness. In all cases where malice, fraud, or oppression can be shown, the court may award punitive damages in order to punish and deter the offender.

It is important to note that actual damage to one's reputation is not a required element for an invasion of privacy action. Injured feelings standing alone are enough to bring suit against an offender, since Georgia law recognizes mental suffering as an injury to a person. If you feel that your privacy has been wrongfully invaded and have experienced suffering as a result, an experienced Atlanta attorney should be consulted to discuss your legal options. Our firm is experienced in handling privacy cases, and one of our attorneys may be able to assist you in recovering damages.

The information provided above is a very general summary of the law regarding this particular legal issue at the time this text was prepared. Because this analysis is subject to change depending upon recent cases and developments, you should not rely on this summary as legal advice. As with any important legal question, you should always consult with a lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction. Our lawyers are licensed to practice in all Georgia state and federal courts.