Sonntagsblick violated privacy with portrait picture from the Internet
Publicly accessible portrait photos published on the Internet may not always be used to illustrate a newspaper report. The Press Council partially upheld a complaint against Sonntagsblick.
The Press Council partially upheld a complaint against Sonntagsblick. In September 2008, the newspaper had reported on children conceived from sperm donations. The article focused on a woman who had published her story and photo on the Internet and had previously been asked whether she wanted to contribute to the article. However, she had expressly declined. Sonntagsblick published the article anyway, sticking to the website and stating that it had used the homepage as a source.
The woman then complained that the text and image had been copied against her will and that the procurement of the information was therefore unfair. Sonntagsblick countered that anyone who publishes their life story on the Internet is presenting themselves to the world public.
The woman then complained that the text and image had been copied against her will and that the procurement of the information was therefore unfair. Sonntagsblick countered that anyone who publishes their life story on the Internet is presenting themselves to the world public.
Maintaining proportionality
According to the Declaration of the Duties and Rights of Journalists, obtaining the information from the Internet was not unfair, the Press Council announced on Tuesday. However, proportionality had not been observed, the Press Council stated. The Sonntagsblick has a larger, different audience than the private website dedicated to a specific topic. The newspaper should have refrained from using the image or at least altered it. The photo did not contain any essential information about the article.
