Case Law | Right to Image – Minors – Absence of public relevance in the broadcast.
Data Privacy & Data Protection Department | Case Law | Right to Image – Minors – Absence of public relevance in the broadcast.
“T., A. B. v. Arte Televisivo Argentino y Others”, National Court of Appeals in Civil Matters, Division M, 14 August 2020.
On 14 August 2020, the National Court of Appeals in Civil Matters upheld the ruling that condemned a television channel for exposing in a news channel the image and details of a child who was the victim, together with his mother, of a hostage-taking.
In this regard, the Court ruled that in order to verify whether the news is really of public relevance, it must be assessed if it is in fact of general interest (exception provided for in Section 31 of Law No. 11,723) and, therefore, if the information is of relevance to the community. Only in that case will it prevail over the individual interest and can it be validly invoked as a cause of justification for the disturbance and inconvenience caused to the affected party. To this effect, the Court considered that the context in which the interview with the minor took place prevents it from being included in the framework of news items that limit the right to self-determination of personal property since the interview with the child is not related to the public interest of the news story. All this, understanding that the image of the minor was unnecessarily exhibited, making his face visible, calling him by his name, and mentioning his mother’s name, events that are in breach of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Section 22 of Law No. 26,061.
Furthermore, the Court considered that, even with the consent of the parents to allow the exposure or broadcasting of the child’s voice and image, and even with the approval of their minor child, none of these acts can be carried out when they affect the best interests of the child.
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