Invasion of privacy is the intrusion into the personal life of another, without just cause, which can give the person whose privacy has been invaded a right to bring a lawsuit for damages against the person or entity that intruded. Celebrities are not protected in many situations, since they have voluntarily placed themselves already within the public eye, and their activities are considered newsworthy. However, an otherwise non-public individual has a right to privacy from:

• intrusion on one’s solitude or into one’s private affairs;
• public disclosure of embarrassing private information;
• publicity which puts him/her in a false light to the public; and
• appropriation of one’s name or picture for personal or commercial advantage. Celebrities generally can recovery for this type of breach of privacy

 A defense to a charge of invasion of privacy is that the person making the disclosure had a legitimate reason for doing so.  For example, investigation of a person’s credit when the person has applied for a loan is a legitimate reason.  Investigations of insurance claims are privileged.