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Tort Privacy and Free Speech

Document Type

Book Section

Publication Date

2012

Publication Title

The Right to Privacy in the Light of Media Convergence: Perspectives from Three Continents

Abstract

On September 19, 2010, Rutgers College freshman Darun Ravi used a webcam to covertly record a video of his roommate Tyler Clementi having sex with another student. On September 22, apparently as a result of the torment caused by these events, Clementi jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge. Although it is not known whether Clementi’s sexual orientation was a contributing factor in Ravi’s decision to target him, the incident helped prompt a national debate about harassment of young people on the basis of their sexuality and prompted the highly successful “It Gets Better Project” in support of gay youth. Ravi has been charged under New Jersey law with criminal invasion of privacy and transmission of the recording of a sexual act. It is likely that civil actions for invasions of privacy will be brought by Clementi’s family and estate.

Keywords

Torts, Tort Privacy, Free Speech, Internet Law

Publication Citation

Neil M. Richards, Tort Privacy and Free Speech, in The Right to Privacy in the Light of Media Convergence: Perspectives from Three Continents 255 (Dieter Doerr & Russell L. Weaver eds., 2012)

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