Damages for reputational harm: can privacy actions tread on defamation's turf?

Abstract

In four recent cases, the High Court of England and Wales has had to consider whether damages for reputational harm can be recovered in a claim for misuse of private information ('MOPI'). This is an important issue which sharpens focus on the precise boundaries between privacy and defamation law. And yet it is a question on which the court is currently divided, with different judges coming to different conclusions on whether, and on what basis, reputational harm damages can be awarded in a privacy claim. This article argues that the key to resolving this issue is to better understand: (1) the precise interests protected by defamation and MOPI; and (2) how the interests protected by each tort are tied to the available heads of damage. Unpacking these points in turn, the article explains why damages for reputational harm should be restricted to defamation and be unavailable in a MOPI claim.