Ontario Court Recognizes Another New Privacy Tort

Ruling on non-consensual distribution of intimate images uses U.S. "Publication of Embarrassing Private Facts" claim

In January 2016, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice issued a decision further expanding the scope of privacy-related common-law torts. In Jane Doe 464533 v. D. (Jane Doe)¹, Justice Stinson considered the plaintiff's claims for breach of confidence, intentional infliction of mental distress and invasion of privacy after the defendant posted an intimate video of her online and showed it to members of their social circle.

The New Tort

In assessing the claim for invasion of privacy, Justice Stinson returned to the 2012 Ontario Court of Appeal decision in Jones v. Tsige², and in particular the Court of Appeal's reliance on the four privacy torts set out in the American Restatement (Second) of Torts. In Jones, the Court found that the tort of intrusion upon seclusion was most relevant to the case before it. In Jane Doe, Justice Stinson found instead