New York State Law
Civil Rights Law
Consolidated Laws of New York's CVR code
Article 5 - NY Civil Rights Law
RIGHT TO PRIVACY
| Section | Description |
|---|---|
| 50 | Right of privacy. |
| 50-A | Personnel records of police officers, firefighters and correction officers. |
| 50-B | Right of privacy; victims of sex offenses or offenses involving the transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus. |
| 50-C | Private right of action. |
| 50-D | Personnel records of court officers. |
| 50-E | Personnel records of bridge and tunnel officers, sergeants and lieutenants. |
| 51 | Action for injunction and for damages. |
| 52 | Televising, broadcasting or taking motion pictures of certain proceedings prohibited. |
| 52-B | Private right of action for unlawful dissemination or publication of an intimate image |
| 52-C | Private right of action for unlawful dissemination or publication of a sexually explicit depiction of an individual. |
S 50. Right of privacy. A person, firm or corporation that uses for advertising purposes, or for the purposes of trade, the name, portrait or picture of any living person without having first obtained the written consent of such person, or if a minor of his or her parent or guardian, is guilty of a misdemeanor. S 50-a. Personnel records of police officers, firefighters and correction officers. 1. All personnel records used to evaluate performance toward continued employment or promotion, under the control of any police agency or department of the state or any political subdivision thereof including authorities or agencies maintaining police forces of individuals defined as police officers in section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law and such personnel records under the control of a sheriff's department or a department of correction of individuals employed as correction officers and such personnel records under the control of a paid fire department or force of individuals employed as firefighters or firefighter/paramedics and such personnel records under the control of the department of corrections and community supervision for individuals defined as peace officers pursuant to subdivisions twenty-three and twenty-three-a of section 2.10 of the criminal procedure law shall be considered confidential and not subject to inspection or review without the express written consent of such police officer, firefighter, firefighter/paramedic, correction officer or peace officer within the department of corrections and community supervision except as may be mandated by lawful court order. 2. Prior to issuing such court order the judge must review all such requests and give interested parties the opportunity to be heard. No such order shall issue without a clear showing of facts sufficient to warrant the judge to request records for review. 3. If, after such hearing, the judge concludes there is a sufficient basis he shall sign an order requiring that the personnel records in question be sealed and sent directly to him. He shall then review the file and make a determination as to whether the records are relevant and material in the action before him. Upon such a finding the court shall make those parts of the record found to be relevant and material available to the persons so requesting. 4. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any district attorney or his assistants, the attorney general or his deputies or assistants, a county attorney or his deputies or assistants, a corporation counsel or his deputies or assistants, a town attorney or his deputies or assistants, a village attorney or his deputies or assistants, a grand jury, or any agency of government which requires the records described in subdivision one, in the furtherance of their official functions. S 50-b. Right of privacy; victims of sex offenses or offenses involving the transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus. 1. The identity of any victim of a sex offense, as defined in article one hundred thirty or section 255.25, 255.26 or 255.27 of the penal law, or of an offense involving the alleged transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus, shall be confidential. No report, paper, picture, photograph, court file or other documents, in the custody or possession of any public officer or employee, which identifies such a victim shall be made available for public inspection. No such public officer or employee shall disclose any portion of any police report, court file, or other document, which tends to identify such a victim except as provided in subdivision two of this section. 2. The provisions of subdivision one of this section shall not be construed to prohibit disclosure of information to: a. Any person charged with the commission of an offense, as defined in subdivision one of this section, against the same victim; the counsel or guardian of such person; the public officers and employees charged with the duty of investigating, prosecuting, keeping records relating to the offense, or any other act when done pursuant to the lawful discharge of their duties; and any necessary witnesses for either party; or b. Any person who, upon application to a court having jurisdiction over the alleged offense, demonstrates to the satisfaction of the court that good cause exists for disclosure to that person. Such application shall be made upon notice to the victim or other person legally responsible for the care of the victim, and the public officer or employee charged with the duty of prosecuting the offense; or c. Any person or agency, upon written consent of the victim or other person legally responsible for the care of the victim, except as may be otherwise required or provided by the order of a court. 3. The court having jurisdiction over the alleged offense may order any restrictions upon disclosure authorized in subdivision two of this section, as it deems necessary and proper to preserve the confidentiality of the identity of the victim. 4. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to require the court to exclude the public from any stage of the criminal proceeding. 5. No disclosure of confidential HIV related information, as defined in section twenty-seven hundred eighty of the public health law, including the identity of the victim of an offense involving transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus, shall be permitted under this section contrary to article twenty-seven-F of the public health law. S 50-c. Private right of action. If the identity of the victim of an offense defined in subdivision one of section fifty-b of this article is disclosed in violation of such section, any person injured by such disclosure may bring an action to recover damages suffered by reason of such wrongful disclosure. In any action brought under this section, the court may award reasonable attorney's fees to a prevailing plaintiff. S 50-d. Personnel records of court officers. 1. As used in this section, "personnel records of court officers" means all personnel records of court officers as defined in paragraph a of subdivision twenty-one of section 2.10 of the criminal procedure law, used to evaluate performance toward continued employment or promotion, and under the control of the office of court administration. 2. Personnel records of court officers shall be disclosed in a court action pursuant to the relevant provisions of the criminal procedure law, the civil practice law and rules, or any other provision of law governing such disclosure only after the court has notified the subject of such record that such record may be disclosed in a court action and the court has given the subject of such record an opportunity to be heard on the question of whether the records sought are relevant and material in the action before the court. If, after such hearing, the court determines that only a portion of such records are relevant and material in the action before it, it shall make those parts of the record found to be relevant and material available to the persons so requesting. 3. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any grand jury or any agency of government which requires the records described in subdivision one of this section in the furtherance of their official duties. S 50-e. Personnel records of bridge and tunnel officers, sergeants and lieutenants. 1. As used in this section, "personnel records of bridge and tunnel officers, sergeants and lieutenants" means all personnel records of bridge and tunnel officers, sergeants and lieutenants as defined in subdivision twenty of section 2.10 of the criminal procedure law, used to evaluate performance toward continued employment or promotion, and under the control of the Triborough bridge and tunnel authority. 2. Personnel records of bridge and tunnel officers, sergeants and lieutenants shall be disclosed in a court action pursuant to the relevant provisions of the criminal procedure law, the civil practice law and rules, or any other provision of law governing such disclosure only after the court has notified the subject of such record that such record may be disclosed in a court action and the court has given the subject of such record an opportunity to be heard on the question of whether the records sought are relevant and material in the action before the court. If, after such hearing, the court determines that only a portion of such records are relevant and material in the action before it, it shall make those parts of the record found to be relevant and material available to the persons so requesting. 3. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any grand jury or any agency of government which requires the records described in subdivision one of this section in the furtherance of their official duties. S 51. Action for injunction and for damages. Any person whose name, portrait, picture or voice is used within this state for advertising purposes or for the purposes of trade without the written consent first obtained as above provided may maintain an equitable action in the supreme court of this state against the person, firm or corporation so using his name, portrait, picture or voice, to prevent and restrain the use thereof; and may also sue and recover damages for any injuries sustained by reason of such use and if the defendant shall have knowingly used such person's name, portrait, picture or voice in such manner as is forbidden or declared to be unlawful by section fifty of this article, the jury, in its discretion, may award exemplary damages. But nothing contained in this article shall be so construed as to prevent any person, firm or corporation from selling or otherwise transferring any material containing such name, portrait, picture or voice in whatever medium to any user of such name, portrait, picture or voice, or to any third party for sale or transfer directly or indirectly to such a user, for use in a manner lawful under this article; nothing contained in this article shall be so construed as to prevent any person, firm or corporation, practicing the profession of photography, from exhibiting in or about his or its establishment specimens of the work of such establishment, unless the same is continued by such person, firm or corporation after written notice objecting thereto has been given by the person portrayed; and nothing contained in this article shall be so construed as to prevent any person, firm or corporation from using the name, portrait, picture or voice of any manufacturer or dealer in connection with the goods, wares and merchandise manufactured, produced or dealt in by him which he has sold or disposed of with such name, portrait, picture or voice used in connection therewith; or from using the name, portrait, picture or voice of any author, composer or artist in connection with his literary, musical or artistic productions which he has sold or disposed of with such name, portrait, picture or voice used in connection therewith. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prohibit the copyright owner of a sound recording from disposing of, dealing in, licensing or selling that sound recording to any party, if the right to dispose of, deal in, license or sell such sound recording has been conferred by contract or other written document by such living person or the holder of such right. Nothing contained in the foregoing sentence shall be deemed to abrogate or otherwise limit any rights or remedies otherwise conferred by federal law or state law. S 52. Televising, broadcasting or taking motion pictures of certain proceedings prohibited. No person, firm, association or corporation shall televise, broadcast, take motion pictures or arrange for the televising, broadcasting, or taking of motion pictures within this state of proceedings, in which the testimony of witnesses by subpoena or other compulsory process is or may be taken, conducted by a court, commission, committee, administrative agency or other tribunal in this state; except that the prohibition contained in this section shall not apply to public hearings conducted by the public service commission with regard to rates charged by utilities, or to proceedings by either house of the state legislature or committee or joint committee of the legislature or by a temporary state commission which includes members of the legislature, so long as any testimony of witnesses which is taken is taken without resort to subpoena or other compulsory process, if (1) the consent of the temporary president of the senate or the speaker of the assembly, in the case of the respective houses of the state legislature, or the chairman, in the case of such a committee or commission, and a majority of the members thereof present at such proceedings, shall have been first obtained, provided, however, that in the case of the public rate hearings of the public service commission, it shall be sufficient to obtain the consent of the presiding officer, (2) the written consent of the witness testifying at the time shall have been obtained, prior to the time of his testifying, and (3) it has been determined by such presiding officer or chairman and such majority of the members that it is in the public interest to permit the televising, broadcasting or taking of motion pictures. Any violation of this section shall be a misdemeanor. S 52-B. Private right of action for unlawful dissemination or publication of an intimate image 1. Any person depicted in a still or video image, regardless of whether or not the original still or video image was consensually obtained, shall have a cause of action against an individual who, for the purpose of harassing, annoying or alarming such person, disseminated or published, or threatened to disseminate or publish, such still or video image, where such image: a. was taken when such person had a reasonable expectation that the image would remain private; and b. depicts (i) an unclothed or exposed intimate part of such person; or (ii) such person engaging in sexual conduct, as defined in subdivision ten of section 130.00 of the penal law, with another person; and c. was disseminated or published, or threatened to be disseminated or published, without the consent of such person. 2. In any action commenced pursuant to subdivision one of this section, the finder of fact, in its discretion, may award injunctive relief, punitive damages, compensatory damages and reasonable court costs and attorney's fees. 3. This section shall not apply to the following: a. the reporting of unlawful conduct; b. dissemination or publication of an intimate still or video image made during lawful and common practices of law enforcement, legal proceedings or medical treatment; c. images involving voluntary exposure in a public or commercial setting; or d. dissemination or publication of an intimate still or video image made for a legitimate public purpose. 4. Any person depicted in a still or video image that depicts an unclothed or exposed intimate part of such person, or such person engaging in sexual conduct as defined in subdivision ten of section 130.00 of the penal law with another person, which is disseminated or published without the consent of such person and where such person had a reasonable expectation that the image would remain private, may maintain an action or special proceeding for a court order to require any website that is subject to personal jurisdiction under subdivision five of this section to permanently remove such still or video image; any such court order granted pursuant to this subdivision may direct removal only as to images that are reasonably within such website's control. 5. a. Any website that hosts or transmits a still or video image, viewable in this state, taken under circumstances where the person depicted had a reasonable expectation that the image would remain private, which depicts: (i) an unclothed or exposed intimate part, as defined in section 245.15 of the penal law, of a resident of this state; or (ii) a resident of this state engaging in sexual conduct as defined in subdivision ten of section 130.00 of the penal law with another person; and b. Such still or video image is hosted or transmitted without the consent of such resident of this state, shall be subject to personal jurisdiction in a civil action in this state to the maximum extent permitted under the United States constitution and federal law. 6. A cause of action or special proceeding under this section shall be commenced the later of either: a. three years after the dissemination or publication of an image; or b. one year from the date a person discovers, or reasonably should have discovered, the dissemination or publication of such image. 7. Nothing herein shall be read to require a prior criminal complaint, prosecution or conviction to establish the elements of the cause of action provided for by this section. 8. The provisions of this section are in addition to, but shall not supersede, any other rights or remedies available in law or equity. 9. If any provision of this section or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this section which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this section are severable. 10. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit, or to enlarge, the protections that 47 U.S.C § 230 confers on an interactive computer service for content provided by another information content provider, as such terms are defined in 47 U.S.C. § 230. S 52-C. Private right of action for unlawful dissemination or publication of a sexually explicit depiction of an individual. 1. For the purposes of this section: a. "depicted individual" means an individual who appears, as a result of digitization, to be giving a performance they did not actually perform or to be performing in a performance that was actually performed by the depicted individual but was subsequently altered to be in violation of this section. b. "digitization" means to realistically depict the nude body parts of another human being as the nude body parts of the depicted individual, computer-generated nude body parts as the nude body parts of the depicted individual or the depicted individual engaging in sexual conduct, as defined in subdivision ten of section 130.00 of the penal law, in which the depicted individual did not engage. c. "individual" means a natural person. d. "person" means a human being or legal entity. e. "sexually explicit material" means any portion of an audio visual work that shows the depicted individual performing in the nude, meaning with an unclothed or exposed intimate part, as defined in section 245.15 of the penal law, or appearing to engage in, or being subjected to, sexual conduct, as defined in subdivision ten of section 130.00 of the penal law. 2. a. A depicted individual shall have a cause of action against a person who, discloses, disseminates or publishes sexually explicit material related to the depicted individual, and the person knows or reasonably should have known the depicted individual in that material did not consent to its creation, disclosure, dissemination, or publication. b. It shall not be a defense to an action under this section that there is a disclaimer in the sexually explicit material that communicates that the inclusion of the depicted individual in the sexually explicit material was unauthorized or that the depicted individual did not participate in the creation or development of the material. 3. a. A depicted individual may only consent to the creation, disclosure, dissemination, or publication of sexually explicit material by knowingly and voluntarily signing an agreement written in plain language that includes a general description of the sexually explicit material and the audiovisual work in which it will be incorporated. b. A depicted individual may rescind consent by delivering written notice within three business days from the date consent was given to the person in whose favor consent was made, unless one of the following requirements is satisfied: i. the depicted individual is given at least three business days to review the terms of the agreement before signing it; or ii. if the depicted individual is represented, the attorney, talent agent, or personal manager authorized to represent the depicted individual provides additional written approval of the signed agreement. 4. a. A person is not liable under this section if: i. the person discloses, disseminates or publishes the sexually explicit material in the course of reporting unlawful activity, exercising the person's law enforcement duties, or hearings, trials or other legal proceedings; or ii. the sexually explicit material is a matter of legitimate public concern, a work of political or newsworthy value or similar work, or commentary, criticism or disclosure that is otherwise protected by the constitution of this state or the United States; provided that sexually explicit material shall not be considered of newsworthy value solely because the depicted individual is a public figure. 5. In any action commenced pursuant to this section, the finder of fact, in its discretion, may award injunctive relief, punitive damages, compensatory damages, and reasonable court costs and attorney's fees. 6. A cause of action or special proceeding under this section shall be commenced the later of either: a. three years after the dissemination or publication of sexually explicit material; or b. one year from the date a person discovers, or reasonably should have discovered, the dissemination or publication of such sexually explicit material. 7. Nothing in this section shall be read to require a prior criminal complaint, prosecution or conviction to establish the elements of the cause of action provided for in this section. 8. The provisions of this section including the remedies are in addition to, and shall not supersede, any other rights or remedies available in law or equity. 9. If any provision of this section or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this section which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this section are severable. 10. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit, or to enlarge, the protections that 47 U.S.C. § 230 confers on an interactive computer service for content provided by another information content provider, as such terms are defined in 47 U.S.C. § 230. Top of Page
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