Stuart Skelly: Where to draw the line between the right to privacy and the right to know? - Scotsman.com News

Stuart Skelly: Where to draw the line between the right to privacy and the right to know?

 
 

FROM the Court of Appeal victory by JK Rowling banning photographs of her walking down a public street with her children, to the US court ruling that requires Google to divulge details of YouTube users, the rights of individual privacy are constantly balanced against the public's right of access to information.

This issue has been thrust further into the spotlight by events in the past fortnight.

 
 

A landmark test case came with the ruling of the House of Lords in its first judgment on the freedom of information (FOI) legislation. It is a decision keenly awaited in Scotland and in England that seeks to balance the public's "right to know" under FOI legislation against legitimate privacy expectations of individuals under data protection rules.

 
 

The case involved a request to the NHS' Common Services Agency (CSA), for details of incidences of childhood leukaemia in Dumfries and Galloway, broken down by census ward.

 
 

The request was refused by the CSA, which argued that this information was exempt under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 on the basis that act prevents disclosure of personal data about third parties.

 
 

Full article: <http://news.scotsman.com/opinion/Stuart-Skelly-Where-to-draw.4329502.jp>