In his recent commentary, “The Downfall of Privacy and the Enforcement of the Law,” Cliff Rieders addresses a number of legal and political challenges relating to informational privacy in the digital age. Rieders’ commentary raises a number of thoughtful questions. Nonetheless, his remarks specifically about the right of the press to publish information that has been illegally obtained, including by hacking, merit a second look. This is an area where the law is very clear. It is also an area of law that, as we enter an era of potentially unprecedented tension between our government and our media, is of particular importance.
Rieders’ commentary expresses concerns about whether the law is sufficiently protective of privacy interests, and, in particular, of privacy interests in information that is “terribly interesting or concerns a person of public character.” Referring specifically to the recent WikiLeaks incident involving hacked campaign emails, Rieders asks: “How about the newspapers that sometimes receive the information that has been hacked and publish it? Are they committing a crime?” He further asks, “Is there going to be a different standard if the information concerns public policy or public officials?”
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