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ARTICLE · 22 MARCH 2020

Four Of A Kind: Ontario Recognizes The Fourth Privacy Tort – False Light

In late 2019, the Ontario Superior Court recognized the tort of placing a person in a false light for the first time.

CanadaPrivacy

In late 2019, the Ontario Superior Court recognized the tort of placing a person in a false light for the first time. This landmark decision completes the set of four privacy torts, which are now all recognized in Ontario, and has implications for businesses.

For background on the three other privacy torts, intrusion upon seclusion was recognized by the Ontario Court of Appeal in Jones v Tsige in 2012. Following this landmark ruling, in 2016 and again in 2018, the Ontario Superior Court recognized the tort of public disclosure of private facts.1 Misappropriation of personality has been recognized in Ontario since the 1970s.2

As detailed below, given this new tort's (i) flexible test that requires consideration for the "reasonable" person's view of what is offensive, (ii) potential imposition of liability based on "reckless" conduct, and (iii) unclear adoption of affirmative defences, businesses must be attuned to the potential application of this tort. While the

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