Press Council reprimands Basler Zeitung
Even when public funds are involved, a recipient of social assistance is entitled to privacy. The Swiss Press Council has therefore reprimanded the Basler Zeitung and Baz Online .
In an article published in November 2013, the editors published a picture of a social welfare recipient with details about his career. The editors justified the publication on the grounds that there was a public interest, because the general public finances social welfare. In addition, the picture was taken in the public domain. The Press Council disagrees. The public interest in the topic does not justify the identification of an individual person by picture and text, even if their name is not mentioned. The guidelines of the Press Council clearly state that "even in the public domain, the photographing (...) of private persons is only permissible without the consent of the persons concerned if they are not singled out". However, the social welfare recipient was clearly singled out in the photo. And the detailed information about his life made him identifiable.
