An Ontario Court of Appeal judgment created the right to sue for "intrusion upon seclusion" to be used for "deliberate and significant invasions of personal privacy" earlier this month. In this Q&A from The Globe and Mail, Toronto lawyer Scott Hutchison advises citizens on how the new legal tort will work. To successfully sue under the tort, plaintiffs will need to prove that the offense was caused by an intentional act that "physically or otherwise intrudes upon the seclusion of another or his or her private affairs or concerns in a way that would be highly offensive to a reasonable person." Hutchison notes the tort covers any kind of "snooping," not just computer files.
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