Misuse of private information as a tort: The implications of Google v Judith Vidal-Hall

The Court of Appeal in the recent decision of Google Inc v Judith Vidal Hall¹ 1 [2015] E.M.L.R. 15, [2015] E.W.C.A. Civ 311. has made a number of remarkable rulings in the area of privacy. An important aspect of this decision is that it clarified the legal foundation in which an action for unauthorised disclosure of private information is found. However, the decision itself is not without flaws. This paper seeks to analyse potential problems with the action being classified as a tort as well as the scope of misuse of private information being a form of privacy protection.