CASE NUMBER: 33/2007 – MR O VS YFM – INVASION OF PRIVACY

This is a complaint about the invasion of privacy of the Complainant.  The presenter of the Respondent named the Complainant on-air and gave, amid a lot of laughter, a graphic description of the Complainant’s sexual escapade (described by the Respondent’s attorney as an orgy).  The Respondent conceded that the broadcast complained of was an invasion of the privacy of the Complainant and that it was a clear contravention of the Code of Conduct.  Although Respondent’s attorney referred to the blurred space between matters of public interest and matters of interest to the public, it was not deemed necessary to decide whether this was a matter of public interest or merely of interest to the public. The Respondent had already drafted an apology for broadcasting and submitted it to the BCCSA.  The Respondent was found to have contravened clause 38 of the Code and ordered to broadcast the said apology if it had not already done so.