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SUPREMECOURT

Mani
l
a

THI
RDDI
VISI
ON

G.
R.No.202666 Sept
ember29,
2014

RHONDAAVES.VI
VARESandSPS.MARGARI
TAandDAVI
DSUZARA,
Pet
it
ioner
s,

v
s.

ST.THERESA'
SCOLLEGE,
MYLENERHEZAT.ESCUDERO,
andJOHNDOES,
Respondent
s.

DECISION

VELASCO,
JR.
,J.
:

Theindiv
idual'
sdesireforpr
ivacyi
snev erabsolute,si
ncepar
tici
pati
oninsociet
yisanequally
powerfuldesir
e.Thuseachindivi
duali
scont inuall
yengagedinapersonaladj
ustmentprocess
i
nwhi chhebal ancesthedesir
eforpri
vacywi ththedesir
efordiscl
osureandcommunicationof
hi
msel ft
oot hers,i
nli
ghtoftheenvi
ronment alconditi
onsandsocialnormssetbythesociet
yin
whichhel i
ves.

-Al
anWest
in,
Pri
vacyandFr
eedom (
1967)

TheCase

Befor
eUsisaPeti
ti
onf
orReviewonCert
ior
ari
underRul
e45oft
heRul
esofCour
t,i
nrel
ati
onto
Secti
on19ofA.
M.No.08-
1-16-SC,
1ot
herwi
seknownasthe"
Rul
eontheWri
tofHabeasData.
"
Peti
ti
onersherei
nassail
theJuly27,2012Deci
sion2oft
heRegionalTri
alCour
t,Br
anch14in
CebuCity(RTC)inSP.Proc.No.19251-
CEB,whi
chdismissedt
heirhabeasdat
apetit
ion.

TheFact
s

Neni t
aJuliaV.Dal uz(Juli
a)andJuli
enneVi daSuzar a(Jul
ienne),bothminor s,were, dur
ingthe
periodmat eri
al,gr
aduat i
nghighschoolstudent satSt.Theresa'sColl
ege(STC) , CebuCity.
Somet imeinJanuar y2012,whil
echangingi ntothei
rswimsui t
sf orabeachpar tyt heywere
aboutt oattend,JuliaandJuli
enne,al
ongwi thsever
alothers,tookdigi
talpicturesof
themsel v
escl adonl yi
ntheirunder
garment s.Thesepictureswer ethenuploadedbyAngel a
LindsayTan( Angel a)onherFacebook3pr ofil
e.

Backatt heschool,My l
eneRhezaT.Escuder o(Escudero),acomput erteacheratSTC’shigh
schooldepar t
ment,lear
nedf r
om herstudentsthatsomeseni orsatSTCpost edpict
uresonl
ine,
depict
ingt hemselv
esf r
om thewaistup,dressedonlyinbr assieres.Escuderothenaskedher
studentsiftheyknewwhot hegir
lsinthephot osare.I
nt urn,theyr eadi
lyidenti
fi
edJuli
a,
Juli
enne, andChloeLourdesTaboada( Chloe)
,amongot hers.

UsingSTC’scomput ers,Escuder o’
sstudent sloggedi ntot hei
rrespecti
vepersonalFacebook
accountsandshowedherphot osoft hei denti
fi
edst udents,whichincl
ude:(a)Jul
iaand
Juli
ennedr i
nkinghardli
quorandsmoki ngci garett
esinsideabar ;and(b)Juli
aandJulienne
al
ongt hestreetsofCebuwear ingar t
iclesofcl othi
ngt hatshowv irt
uall
ytheenti
ret
yoft heir
bl
ackbr assi
eres.Whatismor e, Escuder o’sstudentsclaimedt hatther
ewer eti
meswhen
accesstoort heavai
labi
lit
yofthei dent i
fiedstudent s’
phot oswasnotconf i
nedtothegi rl
s’
Facebookf r
iends,
4butwer e,i
nf act,viewabl ebyanyFacebookuser .
5

Upondiscover
y,Escuderorepor
tedthemat terand,thr
oughoneofherst udent’
sFacebookpage,
showedthephot ostoKri
sti
neRoseTigol(Ti
gol),STC’sDiscipli
ne-i
n-Char
ge,forappr
opri
ate
acti
on.Ther
eafter,fol
l
owinganinvest
igat
ion,STCf oundthei denti
fi
edstudentstohave
deport
edthemsel vesinamannerproscri
bedbyt heschool’sSt udentHandbook,t
owit:

1.Possessi
onofal
cohol
i
cdr
inksout
sidet
heschool
campus;

2.Engagi
ngi
nimmor
al,
indecent
,obsceneorl
ewdact
s;
3.Smoki
nganddr
inki
ngal
cohol
i
cbev
eragesi
npubl
i
cpl
aces;

4.Appar
elt
hatexposest
heunder
wear
;

5.Cl
othi
ngthatadvocatesunhealt
hybehav
iour;
depi
ctsobsceni
ty;cont
ainssexual
lysuggesti
ve
messages,l
anguageorsy mbols;
and6.Posingandupl
oadingpi
cturesontheInter
netthatentai
l
amplebodyexposure.

OnMar ch1,2012, Jul

ia,Julienne,Angela,andtheot herst udentsi
nt hepi ct
uresinquesti
on,
reported,asrequired,t
ot heof f
iceofSr.Cel est
eMa.Pur isimaPe( Sr.Purisi
ma) ,STC’
shigh
school pri
ncipalandICM6Di rectr
ess.Theycl ai
medt hatdur i
ngthemeet i
ng,theywere
castigatedandv erbal
lyabusedbyt heSTCof fi
cialspr esentintheconf erence,i
ncludi
ng
AssistantPrinci
pal MussoliniS.Yap( Yap),Roswi ndaJumi l
l
er,andTi gol
.Whati smore,Sr.
Purisimainformedt heirparentsthefollowingdayt hat,aspar toftheirpenalt
y,theyarebarr
ed
from joi
ningthecommencementexer cisesschedul edonMar ch30, 2012.

Aweekbef oregraduati
on,oronMarch23,2012,Angel
a’smot her,
Dr.ArmeniaM.Tan( Tan),
fi
ledaPetit
ionforInj
uncti
onandDamagesbef or
etheRTCofCebuCi t
yagainstSTC,etal.
,
docketedasCivilCaseNo.CEB-38594.
7Init
,Tanprayedthatdefendantst
hereinbeenjoi
ned
fr
om implementingthesancti
onthatpr
ecl
udedAngelafrom joini
ngthecommencement
exerci
ses.

OnMar ch25,2012,peti
ti
onerRhondaAv eVivares(Viv
ares),t
hemot herofJuli
a,j
oinedthefr
ay
asani nterv
enor .OnMarch28,2012,defendantsinCivi
lCaseNo.CEB- 38594fi
ledtheir
memor andum, cont
aini
ngprint
edcopiesofthephot ographsinissueasannexes.Thatsame
day,theRTCi ssuedat emporaryr
estr
ainingorder(TRO)allowingthest udent
stoat t
endthe
graduationceremony ,t
owhichSTCf i
ledamot ionforreconsiderat
ion.

Despit
etheissuanceoftheTRO,STC,nev
ert
heless,bar
redthesancti
onedstudent
sfrom
par
tici
pat
inginthegraduat
ionr
ites,
argui
ngthat,onthedat
eoft hecommencementexer ci
ses,
i
tsadvert
edmot ionforr
econsi
derat
ionontheissuanceoft
heTROr emainedunresol
ved.
Thereaft
er,
pet
it
ionersfi
l
edbeforetheRTCaPeti
ti
onf
ortheIssuanceofaWritofHabeasDat
a,
docketedasSP.Proc.No.19251-
CEB8onthebasi
softhef
ollowingconsi
der
ati
ons:

1.Thephotosofthei
rchi
ldr
eninthei
runder
garment
s(e.
g.,br
a)weretakenforpost
eri
tybef
ore
theychangedi
ntothei
rswimsui
tsontheoccasi
onofabir
thdaybeachparty
;

2.Thepr
ivacysett
ingoft
hei
rchil
dren’
sFacebookaccount
swassetat"Fr
iendsOnl
y.
"They
,
thus,
hav
ear easonabl
eexpect
ati
onofpriv
acywhichmustberespect
ed.

3.Respondents,bei
nginvol
vedint hefi
eldofeducat
ion,kneworoughttohaveknownofl aws
thatsafeguar
dtherightt
oprivacy.Corol
lar
il
y,r
espondentskneworoughttohaveknownt hat
thegirl
s,whosepriv
acyhasbeeni nvaded,aret
hev i
cti
msi nthi
scase,andnott
heoffender s.
Wor se,af
tervi
ewingthephotos,t
hemi norswerecall
ed"immoral"andwerepuni
shedoutright;

4.Thephotosaccessedbel ongtothegir
lsand,thus,cannotbeusedandr eproducedwithout
thei
rconsent.Escuder
o,howev er
,vi
olat
edtheirri
ghtsbysav i
ngdigit
alcopiesofthephotosand
bysubsequentlyshowingthem toSTC’soff
ici
als.Thus,theFacebookaccountsofpeti
tioners’
chil
drenwereintr
udedupon;

5.Thei
ntr
usi
onint
otheFacebookaccounts,
aswellasthecopy
ingofi
nfor
mat
ion,
dat
a,and
di
git
ali
mageshappenedatSTC’
sComput erLabor
ator
y;and

6.Allthedat aanddi git

al imagesthatwer eext r
act
edwer eboldlybroadcast edbyrespondent s
throught heirmemor andum submi ttedt ot heRTCi nconnect i
onwi t
hCivilCaseNo.CEB- 38594.
Topet i
ti
oners, t
heinter
pl ayoftheforegoi ngconstitut
esani nv asionoftheirchil
dren’
spr i
vacy
and, t
hus, prayedthat:(a)awr i
tofhabeasdat abeissued;(b)r espondentsbeor deredto
surrenderanddeposi twi t
hthecourtall sof tandprint
edcopi esoft hesubjectdatabeforeorat
thepr eli
minar yheari
ng; and(c)aft
ertrial,judgmentber ender eddeclari
ngal linf
ormation,data,
anddi gitali
magesaccessed, savedorst ored,repr
oduced, spreadandused, t
ohav ebeen
i
llegallyobtainedinvi
olationofthechildren’ sri
ghttoprivacy.

Fi
ndingt hepeti
ti
onsuffi
cienti
nform andsubstance,
theRTC,thr
oughanOr derdatedJuly5,
2012,issuedthewr i
tofhabeasdata.ThroughthesameOrder,
herei
nrespondentswer e
di
rectedt of
il
etheirver
if
iedwrit
tenretur
n,toget
herwit
hthesupport
ingaf
fidavi
ts,wit
hinfi
ve(5)
wor
kingday
sfr
om ser
viceoft
hewr
it
.

Inti
me, r
espondentscompliedwiththeRTC’sdir
ect i
veandfil
edtheirveri
fi
edwr i
tt
enr et
urn,
l
ay i
ngdownt hefol
lowinggroundsforthedeni
al ofthepeti
ti
on,viz:(
a)petit
ioner
sarenott he
properpart
iest
of i
l
et hepeti
ti
on;(b)peti
ti
oner
sar eengaginginforum shopping;(
c)theinstant
caseisnotonewher eawr i
tofhabeasdat amayi ssue;
and(d)therecanbenov i
olat
ionoftheir
ri
ghttopriv
acyast herei
snor easonabl
eexpectationofpri
vacyonFacebook.

Rul
i
ngoft
heRegi
onal
Tri
alCour
t

OnJuly27,2012,
theRTCrenderedaDeci
siondismissi
ngt
hepet
it
ionf
orhabeasdat
a.The
di
sposit
ivepor
ti
onoftheDeci
sionper
ti
nentl
ystates:

WHEREFORE,
inv
iewoft
hef
oregoi
ngpr
emi
ses,
thePet
it
ioni
sher
ebyDI
SMI
SSED.

Thepar
ti
esandmedi
amustobser
vet
heaf
orest
atedconf
ident
ial
i
ty.

xxxx

SOORDERED.
9

Tothet ri
al court,
peti
ti
onersfai
ledtopr ovet heexistenceofanact ual orthreat
enedv i
olati
onof
themi nors’ri
ghttoprivacy,
oneoft hepr econditi
onsf ortheissuanceoft hewr itofhabeasdata.
Moreov er,thecourtaquoheldthatthephot os, havi
ngbeenupl oadedonFacebookwi thout
rest
ricti
onsast owhomayv i
ewt hem, l
ostt hei
rprivacyinsomeway .Besides,theRTCnot ed,
STCgat heredt hephotographsthroughlegal meansandf oralegalpurpose, t
hatis,t
he
i
mpl ement ationoftheschool’
spol i
ciesandr ulesondi scipl
ine.

Notsat
isf
iedwi
tht
heoutcome,pet
it
ioner
snowcomebef
oret
hisCour
tpur
suantt
oSect
ion19
oft
heRuleonHabeasData.
10
TheI
ssues

Themainissuetobet hr
eshedouti nt
hiscaseiswhetherornotawr itofhabeasdat
ashouldbe
i
ssuedgiventhefactualmil
ieu.Cruci
ali
nresolv
ingthecontr
oversy,howev er
,ist
hepivot
alpoi
nt
ofwhetherornottherewasi ndeedanactual
orthreat
enedviol
ationoft heri
ghtt
opriv
acyinthe
l
if
e,l
ibert
y,orsecuri
tyofthemi norsi
nvol
vedinthi
scase.

OurRul
i
ng

Wef
indnomer
iti
nthepet
it
ion.

Pr
ocedur
ali
ssuesconcer
ningt
heav
ail
abi
l
ityoft
heWr
itofHabeasDat
a

Thewr itofhabeasdat aisar emedyav ai

labletoanyper sonwhoser i
ghttopr ivacyinl ife,li
ber
ty
orsecur i
tyisviolat
edort hreat enedbyanunl awf ulactoromi ssionofapubl icof fi
cial or
employ ee,orofapr ivatei ndividualorent i
tyengagedi nt hegather i
ng, coll
ect i
ngorst oringof
dataori nformationregar dingt heper son,fami l
y,homeandcor respondenceoft heaggr i
eved
party
.11I tisanindependentandsummar yremedydesi gnedt opr otecttheimage, privacy ,
honor,information,andf reedom ofi nformationofani ndiv
idual,andt opr ovideaf orum t o
enforceone’ sri
ghtt othet r
ut handt oinformat i
onal pr
ivacy.Itseekst opr otectaper son’ sri
ght
tocontrol i
nfor
mat ionr egar dingonesel f
,particularl
yininstancesi nwhi chsuchi nformat i
onis
bei
ngcol l
ectedthroughunl awf ulmeansi nordert oachieveunl awf ulends.12

Indev elopingthewr itofhabeasdat a,theCour taimedt opr otectanindividual’

sr i
ghtt o
i
nformat i
onal pri
vacy ,amongot hers.Acompar ativelawschol arhas, infact,defi
nedhabeas
dataas" apr ocedur edesi gnedt osaf eguardi ndiv
idual fr
eedom f rom abusei nthei nformat i
on
age."
13Thewr it
,howev er,will
noti ssueont hebasi smer elyofanal l
egedunaut horizedaccess
toinfor mationaboutaper son.Av ail
mentoft hewr i
tr equir
est heexistenceofanexusbet ween
therightt opr i
vacyont heonehand, andt her i
ghttol if
e,l
ibertyorsecur i
tyont heot her.14Thus,
theexi stenceofaper son’ srighttoi nformationalprivacyandashowi ng,atleastbysubst anti
al
evi
dence, ofanact ual ort hreatenedv i
olat
ionoft her i
ghttopr ivacyi
nl if
e,li
bertyorsecur ityof
thevict i
m ar eindispensabl ebef oret heprivi
l
egeoft hewr itmaybeext ended.15

Wi
thoutanact
ionabl
eent
it
lementi
nthef
ir
stpl
acet
other
ightt
oinf
ormat
ional
pri
vacy
,a
habeasdat apetit
ionwi l
lnotpr osper .Viewedf r
om theper spectiveofthecaseatbar ,
this
requisit
ebegst hisquest i
on: giventhenat ureofanonl i
nesocialnetwork( OSN)––( 1)thatit
facil
i
t at
esandpr omot esr eal-
timei nteractionamongmi l
li
ons,ifnotbil
lions,ofusers,sansthe
spatialbar
riers,
16br i
dgingt hegapcr eatedbyphy sicalspace;and( 2)thatanyi nfor
mat i
on
uploadedinOSNsl eavesani ndel i
bletracei nthepr ovider’
sdatabases, whichareout si
det he
controloftheend- user s––ist herear ightt oinfor
mat ionalpri
vacyinOSNact ivi
tiesofitsusers?
Beforeaddr essi
ngt hi
spoi nt,Wemustf irstresolvethepr ocedurali
ssuesi nthiscase.

a.Thewr i
tofhabeasdat
aisnotonl
yconf
inedt
ocasesofex
tral
egal
kil
l
ingsandenf
orced
disappear
ances

Cont
raryt
orespondent
s’submissi
on,
theWri
tofHabeasDatawasnotenact
edsol
elyf
orthe
pur
poseofcomplementi
ngt heWri
tofAmpar
oincasesofext
ral
egalki
l
li
ngsandenf
orced
di
sappear
ances.

Sect
ion2oft
heRul
eont
heWr
itofHabeasDat
apr
ovi
des:

Sec.2.WhoMayFi le.–Anyaggri
evedpart
ymayf i
leapet
it
ionfort
hewri
tofhabeasdat
a.
Howev er
,incasesofext
ral
egalki
ll
ingsandenf
orceddi
sappear
ances,
thepet
it
ionmaybefi
led
by:

(a)Anymemberoft
hei
mmedi
atef
ami
l
yoft
heaggr
iev
edpar
ty,
namel
y:t
hespouse,
chi
l
dren
andparent
s;or

(b)Anyascendant,descendantorcol
lat
eralr
elat
iveoft
heaggri
evedpart
ywithint
hefourt
hcivi
l
degreeofconsanguini
tyoraff
ini
ty,
indefaul
tofthosement
ionedinthepr
ecedingpar
agraph.
(emphasissuppli
ed)

Hadt hefr
amer softheRulei
ntendedtonar r
owt heoperat
ionofthewri
tonl
ytocasesof
ext
ralegalki
l
lingsorenf
orceddisappearances,
theaboveunderscoredpor
ti
onofSecti
on2,
ref
lecti
ngav ari
anceofhabeasdatasituati
ons,wouldnothavebeenmade.

Habeasdat
a,t
ost
ress,
wasdesi
gned"
tosaf
eguar
dindi
vi
dual
freedom f
rom abusei
nthe
i
nformat i
onage."17Assuch, i
tiserroneoustoli
mititsappli
cabil
i
tyt
oextral
egalki
l
li
ngsand
enfor
ceddi sappearancesonly.I
nfact,theannotat
ionstotheRulepr
eparedbytheCommitt
eeon
theRevisi
onoft heRul esofCourt,
afterexpl
aini
ngthattheWr i
tofHabeasDatacomplements
theWritofAmpar o, point
edoutthat:

Thewr itofhabeasdat a,
howev er,canbeav ail
edofasani ndependentr emedyt oenf
orceone’s
ri
ghttopr ivacy,morespecifi
callytherightt
oi nf
ormational pr
ivacy.Ther emediesagai
nstthe
vi
olati
onofsuchr ightcanincludet heupdating,r
ecti
fi
cation,suppressionordest r
ucti
onofthe
databaseori nformationorfi
lesi npossessionorincont r
ol ofrespondent s.
18(emphasisOurs)
Clearl
yt hen,thepriv
il
egeoft heWr itofHabeasDat amayal sobeav ai
ledofi ncasesoutsi
deof
extral
egal kil
l
ingsandenf or
ceddi sappearances.

b.Meani
ngof"
engaged"i
nthegat
her
ing,
col
l
ect
ingorst
ori
ngofdat
aori
nfor
mat
ion

Respondents’
cont
ent
ionthatthehabeasdat
awr i
tmaynotissueagainstSTC,itnotbei
ngan
enti
tyengagedint
hegather
ing,col
l
ecti
ngorstor
ingofdataorinformat
ionregardi
ngtheper
son,
famil
y,homeandcorr
espondenceoftheaggri
evedpart
y,whil
ev ali
dtoapoint,i
s,nonet
hel
ess,
err
oneous.

Tobesure,nothi
ngintheRulewouldsuggestthatthehabeasdataprot
ect
ionshall
beavai
l
abl
e
onl
yagainstabusesofapersonorenti
tyengagedint hebusi
nessofgat
her
ing,st
ori
ng,
and
col
l
ecti
ngofdat a.Asprov
idedunderSect
ion1oft heRule:

Secti
on1.HabeasDat a.–Thewr itofhabeasdat aisar emedyav ail
abl
etoanypersonwhose
ri
ghttopri
vacyinli
fe,l
iber
tyorsecuri
tyisv i
olatedort hr eatenedbyanunl awf
ulactoromi ssi
on
ofapubli
coffi
cialoremployee,orofapr iv
at ei
ndi vi
dual orenti
tyengagedinthegather
ing,
col
lect
ingorstori
ngofdataori nf
ormat i
onr egardingtheper son,famil
y,homeand
corr
espondenceoftheaggr i
evedparty.(emphasi sOur s)

Thepr ovi
sion,whent akeninit
spr opercontext,
asawhol e,ir
resi
sti
blyconveystheideathat
habeasdat aisapr otecti
onagainstunlawfulactsoromissionsofpubl i
coff
icial
sandofpriv
ate
i
ndividual
sorent i
tiesengagedingat heri
ng,coll
ecti
ng,orstori
ngdataaboutt heaggri
evedpart
y
andhi sorhercorrespondences,orabouthi sorherfamily
.Suchindividual
orent i
tyneednotbe
i
nt hebusinessofcol lect
ingorstori
ngdata.
To"engage"i
nsomet hingisdif
ferentf r
om under t
akingabusi nessendeavour.To"engage"
means" t
odoort akepartinsomet hing."
19I tdoesnotnecessar i
lymeant hattheacti
vi
tymust
bedoneinpursuitofabusiness.Whatmat t
ersisthattheper sonorenti
tymustbegat heri
ng,
col
lect
ingorstori
ngsaiddataorinf ormat i
onaboutt heaggr i
evedpart
yorhi sorherfamil
y.
Whethersuchundertaki
ngcarri
est heel ementofr egulari
ty,aswhenonepur suesabusiness,
andisinthenatureofapersonalendeav our,f
oranyot herreasonorevenf ornoreasonatall
,i
s
i
mmat eri
alandsuchwi ll
notpreventt hewr i
tfrom gett
ingt osaidper
sonorent it
y.

Toagr eewi t
hr espondent s’abovear gument,
wouldmeanundul ylimit
ingthereachoft hewritt
o
av erysmal l
group, i
.e.,pri
vatepersonsandent i
ti
eswhosebusi nessisdatagat heri
ngand
storage,andint hepr ocessdecreasingt heef
fect
ivenessofthewritasaninst
r umentdesigned
topr ot
ectar i
ghtwhi chi seasil
yviolatedinvi
ewofr api
dadvancement sinthei nf
ormationand
communi cati
onst echnology ––arightwhichagreatmajori
tyoftheusersoft echnology
themselvesar enotcapabl eofprotecting.

Havi
ngresol
vedt
hepr
ocedur
alaspectoft
hecase,
Wenowpr
oceedt
othecor
eoft
he
cont
rov
ersy.

Ther
ightt
oinf
ormat
ional
pri
vacyonFacebook

a.TheRi
ghtt
oInf
ormat
ional
Pri
vacy

Theconceptofpr i
vacy has, t
hrought ime, greatl
yevolved,wi t
ht echnol
ogicaladvancement s
havinganinfl
uenti
al parttherein.Thisev oluti
onwasbr i
eflyrecountedinformerChi efJusti
ce
ReynatoS.Puno’sspeech, TheCommonRi ghttoPri
vacy,20wher eheexplai
nedt hethree
str
andsoft heri
ghttopr ivacy,v i
z:(1)locationalorsit
uationalpr i
vacy;
21(2)informational
pri
vacy;and(3)decisional pri
vacy .
22Oft het hree,whatisr el
ev anttothecaseatbari stheri
ght
toinfor
mationalpr
ivacy ––usual lydefinedast herightofindividualstocontr
ol i
nformat i
on
aboutthemselves.
23

Withtheav ail
abili
tyofnumer ousavenuesfori nf
ormat i
ongat heri
nganddatashari
ngnowaday s,
nottoment ioneachsy st em’si
nher
entv ul
ner abi
li
tytoattacksandi nt
rusi
ons,t
herei
smor e
reasonthatev eryindi
vidual’
sri
ghtt
ocont rolsaidflowofi nformati
onshouldbeprotectedand
thateachindividualshoul dhav
eatleastar easonableexpect ati
onofpriv
acyincy
ber space.
Severalcomment ator
sr egardi
ngpr
ivacyandsoci al net
wor kingsit
es,however
,al
lagreet hat
gi
venthemi l
l
ionsofOSNusers,"
[i]
nthis[Soci
alNet
wor
king]env
ironment,pr
ivacyisnol
onger
gr
oundedinreasonabl
eexpectat
ions,butrat
heri
nsometheoret
icalpr
otocolbett
erknownas
wi
shfult
hinki
ng."
24

Itisduet ot hisnot ionthattheCour tsawt hepr essingneedt opr ovi

def orjudicialr
emedi esthat
woul dal l
owasummar yhear i
ngoft heunl awful useofdat aori nformat i
onandt oremedy
possi bleviolat
ionsoft her i
ghtt oprivacy.25Int hesamev ei
n, theSout hAfricanHi ghCour t
, i
nits
Deci sioninthel andmar kcase, Hv .W, 26pr omul gat edonJanuar y30,2013, r
ecogni zedthat
"[t
]hel awhast ot akeintoaccountt hechangi ngr ealiti
esnotonl ytechnologicallybutalso
soci al
lyorel seitwi lll
osecr edibil
i
tyi ntheey esoft hepeopl e.xxxI ti
simper ativethatthe
cour tsrespondappr opriat
elytochangi ngt i
mes, actingcaut iouslyandwi thwi sdom. "Consistent
witht his,t
heCour t
,bydev elopingwhatmaybev iewedast hePhi li
ppinemodel oft hewritof
habeasdat a, i
nef fect,recognizedt hat,gener al
lyspeaki ng,hav inganexpect ationof
i
nf ormat i
onal privacyi snotnecessar i
lyincompat i
blewi thengagi ngi ncyberspaceact ivi
ti
es,
i
ncl udingthoset hatoccuri nOSNs.

Thequest i
onnowt houghisupt owhatext
entistherighttopriv
acypr
otect
edinOSNs?Beari
n
mindt hati
nfor
mationalpri
vacyinvol
vespersonali
nformation.Att
hesamet i
me,t
hever
y
purposeofOSNsi ssociali
zing––shar
ingamy ri
adofi nf
ormat i
on,
27someofwhichwoul
dhave
otherwiseremai
nedper sonal.

b.Facebook’
sPr
ivacyTool
s:ar
esponset
othecl
amorf
orpr
ivacyi
nOSNact
ivi
ti
es

Briefly,t
hepur poseofanOSNi spreci
selyt ogiveuser stheabil
it
ytoi nteractandt ostay
connect edt oot hermember softhesameordi ffer
entsocialmediaplat formt hr
ought heshar ing
ofst atuses, phot os,vi
deos, amongot hers,dependi ngont heservi
cespr ovi
dedbyt hesi t
e.Iti
s
akint ohav i
ngar oom fil
l
edwi t
hmi l
li
onsofper sonalbullet
inboardsor" wal ls,"thecont entsof
whi char eundert hecont r
ol ofeachandev eryuser.Inhisorherbulletinboar d,auser /owner
canpostany thing––f rom text,t
opictures,tomusi candv i
deos––accesst owhi chwoul d
dependonwhet herheorsheal l
owsone, someoral l
oft heotheruserst oseehi sorherpost s.
Sincegai ningpopul ari
ty,theOSNphenomenonhaspav edthewayt ot hecr eat i
onofv ar i
ous
soci alnetwor kingsi t
es,i
ncl udi
ngtheonei nv olv
edint hecaseatbar ,www. f
acebook. com
(Facebook) , whi ch,accordingtoitsdev el
oper s,peopl
euse" t
ostayconnect edwi thfri
endsand
fami ly
, t
odi scov erwhat ’
sgoi ngoni nthewor l
d,andtoshar eandexpr esswhatmat tersto
them. "28

Facebookconnect
ionsar
eest
abl
i
shedt
hrought
hepr
ocessof"
fri
endi
ng"anot
heruser
.By
sendinga" f
riendrequest,
"theuseri nvit
esanot hertoconnectt heiraccountssot hattheycan
viewanyandal l"
Publi
c"and" Fri
endsOnl y"postsoft heot her
.Oncet herequestisaccept ed,t
he
l
inki sestablishedandbot huser sareper mitt
edt oviewt heot heruser’s"Publ
ic"or"Friends
Onl y
"post s,amongot hers."Fr i
endi
ng,"therefor
e,al
lowst heusert oform ormai ntai
none- to-
one
relat
ionshipswi thotherusers, wherebytheusergi v
eshi sorher" Facebookf r
iend"accesst ohis
orherpr ofil
eandshar escer taininf
ormat i
ont othelat t
er.
29

Toaddr essconcernsaboutpr iv
acy ,
30butwithoutdef eati
ngitspurpose,Facebookwasar med
withdiff
erentpriv
acytoolsdesignedt or
egulatetheaccessi bil
ityofauser’
spr ofi
le31aswel las
i
nf ormati
onuploadedbyt heuser .InHv.W,32t heSout hGaut engHighCourtrecogni zedthis
abili
tyoftheusersto"customizet hei
rpri
vacyset t
ings,"butdidsowi t
hthiscav eat:"
Facebook
statesinit
spolici
esthat,al
thoughi tmakesev eryefforttoprotectauser’
sinformat i
on,these
privacysett
ingsarenotfoolproof."
33

Forinst
ance,aFacebookusercanr
egul
atethevisibi
li
tyandaccessibil
i
tyofdigi
tal
i
mages( phot
os),
post edonhi
sorherpersonal
bul l
eti
nor"wall
,"exceptfort
heuser’
spr
ofi
l
e
pi
ctureandID,byselecti
nghi
sorherdesir
edprivacysett
ing:

(
a)Publ
i
c-t
hedef
aul
tset
ti
ng;
ever
yFacebookusercanv
iewt
hephot
o;

(
b)Fr
iendsofFr
iends-onl
ytheuser
’sFacebookf
ri
endsandt
hei
rfr
iendscanv
iewt
hephot
o;

(
b)Fr
iends-onl
ytheuser
’sFacebookf
ri
endscanv
iewt
hephot
o;

(c)Cust
om -thephot
oismadev
isi
bleonl
ytopar
ti
cul
arf
ri
endsand/
ornet
wor
ksoft
he
Facebookuser;
and

(
d)Onl
yMe-t
hedi
git
ali
magecanbev
iewedonl
ybyt
heuser
.

Theforegoingareprivacytool
s,avai
l
abletoFacebookusers, designedtosetupbarr
ier
sto
broadenorlimitt
hev isi
bil
i
tyofhisorherspeci
ficpr
ofil
econt ent,stat
uses,
andphotos,among
others,
from anotheruser’
spointofvi
ew.Inotherwords,Facebookext endsit
susersanavenue
tomaket heav ai
l
abili
tyofthei
rFacebookacti
vit
iesr
eflecttheirchoiceasto"whenandtowhat
ext
entt odisclosefactsabout[themselves]–andt oputothersinthepositi
onofr ecei
vingsuch
confidences."
34I deal
l
y,theselectedsetti
ngwil
lbebasedonone’ sdesi
ret ointeractwithother
s,
coupledwi ththeopposingneedt owithholdcer
taininfor
mationaswel l
ast or egulatethe
spreadingofhi sorherpersonal i
nfor
mat i
on.Needlesstosay,astheprivacyset t
ingbecomes
mor eli
mi t
ing,fewerFacebookuser scanv i
ewthatuser ’
spart
icul
arpost.

STCdi
dnotv
iol
atepet
it
ioner
s’daught
ers’
rightt
opr
ivacy

Withoutthesepri
vacysett
ings,r
espondent
s’contenti
onthatt
hereisnoreasonableexpectati
on
ofpriv
acyinFacebookwoul d,i
ncontext
,becorrect.However
,suchisnotthecase.Itisthr
ough
theavail
abil
it
yofsaidpri
vacytoolst
hatmanyOSNuser saresaidt
ohav easubjectiv
e
expectat
ionthatonl
ythoset owhomtheygrantaccesstothei
rprof
il
ewillvi
ewthei nformati
on
theypostoruploadther
eto.35

Thi
s,however
,doesnotmeanthatanyFacebookuseraut
omat
ical
l
yhasapr
otect
edexpect
ati
on
ofpr
ivacyi
nal
lofhi
sorherFacebookactivi
ti
es.

Befor
eonecanhav eanexpect ati
onofpr i
vacyinhi
sorherOSNact i
vity
,itisfir
stnecessar yt
hat
sai
duser ,i
nthiscaset hechildrenofpeti
ti
oners,manifestt
hei ntenti
ont okeepcer tai
npost s
pri
vate,thr
ought heempl oymentofmeasur est
opr eventaccesst heretoort oli
mi tit
s
vi
sibi
lit
y.36Andt hi
sintentioncanmat eri
ali
zeincyberspacet hrought heut i
li
zati
onoft heOSN’ s
pri
vacytools.Inotherwor ds,ut
ili
zat
ionoftheseprivacytoolsist hemani festat
ion,i
ncy berworl
d,
oftheuser’sinvocati
onofhi sorherr i
ghttoinf
ormat i
onalpri
v acy.37

Ther ef
ore,aFacebookuserwhoopt st omakeuseofapr ivacytooltograntordenyaccesst o
hisorherpostor prof
il
edetailshouldnotbedeni edtheinformationalpri
v acyr i
ghtwhi ch
necessaril
yaccompani essaidchoice.38Ot herwise,usi
ngt hesepr i
vacytool swoul dbea
fecklessexerci
se,suchthatif
,forinstance,auserupl oadsaphot ooranyper sonal i
nformat i
on
tohisorherFacebookpageandset sitsprivacylevelat"OnlyMe"oracust om li
stsot hatonly
theuserorachosenf ewcanv iewit,saidphot owoul dsti
llbedeemedpubl i
cbyt hecour t
sasi f
theusernev erchosetolimitt
hephot o’svisibil
i
tyandaccessi bil
it
y.Suchposi ti
on,ifadopt ed,
willnotonlystr
ipthesepriv
acyt ool
soft heirfuncti
onbuti twouldal sodisregardt hev ery
i
ntent i
onoftheusert okeepsaidphot oori nformati
onwi thintheconfinesofhi sorherpr ivat
e
space.
Wemustnowdet erminetheextentthatthei magesinquestionwer evi
sibl
etootherFacebook
usersandwhet herthediscl
osurewasconf ident
ial
innature.Inotherwords,di
dthemi nor
sli
mit
thedisclosur
eoft hephotossuchthatt heimageswer ekeptwi thi
nthei
rzonesofpr i
vacy?Thi
s
determinati
oni snecessaryinresolv
ingt heissueofwhethert heminorscarvedoutazoneof
pri
vacywhent hephot oswereuploadedt oFacebooksot hattheimageswi l
lbeprot
ected
againstunauthorizedaccessanddi sclosure.

Petitioners,i
nsuppor tofthei
rt hesisaboutt heirchi
ldren’sprivacyr ightbeingv i
olated,i
nsi
st
thatEscuder ointrudedupont hei rchildren’sFacebookaccount s, downl oadedcopi esofthe
picturesandshowedsai dphotost oTi gol.Tot hem,thiswasabr eachoft hemi nors’pri
vacy
sincet heirFacebookaccount s, all
egedl y,wereunder" veryprivate"or" OnlyFr i
ends"setti
ng
safeguar dedwi thapasswor d.39Ul ti
mat ely,t
heyposi tthattheirchildren’sdiscl
osur ewasonly
l
imi tedsincet heirprofil
eswer enotopent opublicvi
ewi ng.Ther efore,accordingtot hem,peopl
e
whoar enott heirFacebookf ri
ends, i
ncl udingrespondent s,arebar redf rom accessingsaidpost
withoutt heirknowl edgeandconsent .Aspet it
ioner’
schi l
drentest if
ied,itwasAngel awho
uploadedt hesubj ectphotoswhi chwer eonl yviewablebyt hefiveoft hem,40al t
houghwho
thesef ivearedonotappearont herecor ds.

Escudero,ont heot herhand, statedinheraf fi

dav i
t41that"mystudentsshowedmesome
pict
uresofgirlscladinbr assieres.Thisstudent[ si
c]ofmi neinf
ormedmet hatt
hesearesenior
highschool [
student s]ofSTC, whoar etheirfri
endsi n[F]
acebook.xxxTheyt hensaid[that
]
therearesti
llmanyot herphot ospost edont heFacebookaccount softhesegir
ls.Att
he
comput erl
ab, thesest udentsthenl oggedint otheirFacebookaccount[sic]
,andaccessedfrom
therethevari
ousphot ogr aphsxxx.Theyev entoldmet hatt
herehadbeent imeswhent hese
photoswer e‘public’i.
e.,notconf i
nedt otheirfr
iendsi nFacebook.
"

Inthisr egar d, Wecannotgiv

emuchwei ghttothemi nors’t
esti
moni esforonekeyreason:fail
ure
toquest iont hestudents’
actofshowingthephot ostoTigoldisprovesthei
rall
egati
onthatthe
phot oswer ev i
ewableonl
ybythef i
veofthem.Wi thoutanyevidencetocorroborat
etheir
statementt hattheimageswerevisibl
eonlytothef i
veofthem, andwi t
houtthei
rchall
enging
Escuder o’scl ai
mt hatt
heotherstudent
swer eablet ovi
ewt hephotos,thei
rstat
ementsar e,at
best, self-serv i
ng,
thusdeservi
ngscantconsiderati
on.42

Iti
swelltonotethatnotoneofpet it
ioner
sdi sputedEscudero’sswornaccountt hather
student
s,whoar et hemi nors’Facebook"f r
iends,"showedherthephot osusingtheirown
Facebookaccount s.Thisonl ygoest oshowt hatnospecialmeanst obeabletov iewthe
all
egedl
yprivat
epost swer eeverresortedtobyEscuder o’
sstudents,
43andt hatitisreasonabl
e
toassume,therefore,thatthephot oswer e,inreali
ty,
viewabl
eeitherby(1)theirFacebook
f
ri
ends,
or(
2)byt
hepubl
i
catl
arge.

Consideri
ngthatthedefaultsett
ingforFacebookpost sis"
Publi
c,
"itcanbesur misedthatthe
photographsinquesti
onwer ev i
ewabletoeveryoneonFacebook, absentanypr ooft
hat
peti
ti
oners’chi
ldrenposi
tiv
elyli
mi t
edt hedi
sclosureofthephotograph.Ifsuchwerethecase,
theycannotinvoketheprotecti
onat t
achedtother i
ghttoinfor
mationalpri
vacy.Theensuing
pronouncementinUSv .Gines-Perez44ismosti nst
ructi
ve:

[A]personwhoplacesaphotographontheInt
ernetpr
eciselyintendst
oforsakeandrenounce
allpr
ivacyr
ight
stosuchimagery,par
ti
cular
lyunderci
rcumst ancessuchashere,wher
ethe
Defendantdidnotempl
oyprotecti
vemeasuresordevicesthatwoul dhavecontr
oll
edaccessto
theWebpageort hephotogr
aphi t
sel
f.
45

Al
so,Uni
tedStat
esv.Maxwell46heldthat"[
t]
hemor eopenthemethodoftransmi ssi
oni
s,the
l
esspri
vacyonecanreasonablyexpect
.Messagessenttothepubli
catlar
gei nthechatr
oom or
e-
mailt
hatisfor
wardedfrom cor
respondenttocor
respondentl
osesanysembl anceofpri
vacy.
"

Thatthephotosarev i
ewableby"fr
iendsonly
"doesnotnecessari
lybol
sterthepet
it
ioners’
content
ion.I
nthi
sr egard,
thecybercommuni tyi
sagreedthatt
hedigit
alimagesunderthis
sett
ingsti
llr
emaintobeout si
detheconfinesofthezonesofpri
vacyinviewofthefol
lowing:

(
1)Facebook"al
l
owstheworldt
obemoreopenandconnect
edbygi
vi
ngi
tsuser
sthet
ool
sto
i
nter
actandsharei
nanyconcei
vabl
eway
;"47

(
2)AgoodnumberofFacebookuser
s"bef
ri
end"ot
heruser
swhoar
etot
alst
ranger
s;48

(
3)Thesheernumberof"
Fri
ends"oneuserhas,
usual
l
ybyt
hehundr
eds;
and

(4)Auser’
sFacebookfr
iendcan"
share"
49thefor
mer’
spost,
or"t
ag"50ot
her
swhoar enot
Facebookfr
iendswit
hthefor
mer,despi
tei
tsbei
ngvi
sibl
eonl
ytohi
sorherownFacebook
fri
ends.
Iti
swel l
toemphasi zeatthispointthatsettingapost’sorprof
il
edet ai
l
’spri
v acyt
o" Friends"i
s
noassurancet hati
tcannol ongerbev iewedbyanot heruserwhoi snotFacebookf riendswi t
h
thesourceoft hecontent
.Theuser ’
sownFacebookf ri
endcanshar esaidcontentort aghisor
herownFacebookf r
iendthereto,r
egardlessofwhet hertheusertaggedbyt helat
teris
Facebookf r
iendsornotwi t
ht heformer.Also,whent hepostissharedorwhenaper soni s
tagged,t
her espect
iveFacebookf ri
endsoft hepersonwhoshar edt hepostorwhowast agged
canv i
ewt hepost,t
hepr i
vacysetti
ngofwhi chwassetat" Fr
iends."

Toill
ustrate,
supposeAhas100Facebookf ri
endsandBhas200.AandBar enotFacebook
fr
iends.IfC,A’sFacebookfri
end,tagsBinA’spost,whichissetat"Fri
ends,
"theini
ti
alaudi
ence
of100( A’sownFacebookf ri
ends)isdramati
cal
lyincr
easedto300( A’s100friendspl
usB’s200
fr
iendsort hepubli
c,dependinguponB’spri
vacysetti
ng).Asaresult,
theaudiencewhocan
vi
ewt heposti seff
ecti
velyexpanded––andtoav eryl
argeextent.

This,al
ongwi thit
sot herfeaturesanduses, i
sconf ir
mationofFacebook’sprocli
vi
tytowards
userinteracti
onandsoci al
izationratherthansecl usi
onorprivacy,asitencour
ages
broadcast i
ngofi ndivi
dualuserpost s.Inf act
,ithasbeensaidt hatOSNshav efaci
li
tatedt
heir
users’self-t
ri
bute,therebyresul t
ingintothe"democr ati
zati
onoff ame."51Thus,i
tissuggest
ed,
thatapr ofil
e,orevenapost ,withvisibi
li
tysetat"Fr i
endsOnly"cannoteasil
y,moreso
automat ical
ly,besaidt obe"v eryprivat
e,"contrar
yt opeti
ti
oners’argument.

Asappl i
ed, ev enassumi ngthatthephot osinissuear evi
sibl
eonl ytothesanct ionedstudents’
Facebookf riends, r
espondentSTCcanhar dl
ybet akentot askfortheper ceivedprivacyinv
asion
sinceitwast hemi nors’Facebookfriendswhoshowedt hepicturestoTigol.Respondent swere
mer erecipi
ent sofwhatwer eposted.Theydi dnotr esor
ttoanyunl awf ulmeansofgat heri
ng
theinformat i
onasi twasv ol
untari
lygiventot hem bypersonswhohadl egit
imat eaccesstothe
saidposts.Cl earl
y ,t
hef aul
t,i
fany,li
eswi t
ht hefri
endsoft hemi nors.Curiouslyenough,
howev er,neitherthemi norsnortheirparentsimput edanyv i
olati
onofpr ivacyagainstthe
studentswhoshowedt heimagest oEscuder o.

Furthermor e,peti
ti
oner
sf ai
l
edt opr ovethei
rcontenti
onthatr espondentsrepr
oducedand
broadcast edthephotographs.Inf act,
whatpeti
ti
onersattributedtorespondentsasanactof
offensivedisclosurewasnomor et hantheact
ualit
ythatrespondent sappendedsaid
photogr aphsintheirmemor andum submi tt
edtothetrial
cour tinconnecti
onwi t
hCivi
lCaseNo.
CEB- 38594.52Thesear enott antamounttoav i
olati
onoft hemi nor’
sinfor
mationalpr
ivacy
ri
ghts, contrar
ytopetit
ioner
s’ asserti
on.
Insum, therecanbenoqui bblingthatt hei magesinquest ion,
ort obemor epr ecise, t
hephotos
ofmi norstudentsscantil
yclad, areper sonalinnature,l
ikelytoaffect,ifi
ndiscr i
mi natel
y
cir
culated,thereput
ationoft hemi norsenr ol
ledi
naconser vati
veinstitut
ion.Howev er,
the
recordsareber ef
tofanyev idence, othert hanbareasser ti
onsthatt heyutil
izedFacebook’ s
priv
acyset t
ingstomaket hephot osv isibleonlyt
ot hem ort oasel ectfew.Wi thoutpr oofthat
theyplacedt hephotographssubj ectoft hi
scasewi thi
nt heambi toft hei
rpr otectedzoneof
priv
acy ,t
heycannotnowi nsistthattheyhav eanexpectat i
onofpr ivacywi t
hr espectt othe
photographsi nquesti
on.

Haditbeenprovedt hattheaccesst ot
hepicturespostedwer eli
mi t
edt otheori
ginaluploader,
thr
oughthe"MeOnl y "pri
vacysett
ing,orthattheuser’scontactli
sthasbeenscr eenedt oli
mi t
accesstoaselectfew, t
hroughthe" Custom"set t
ing,
theresultmayhav ebeendi ff
erent,f
orin
suchinst
ances,theintenti
ontoli
mi taccesstot heparti
cularpost,i
nsteadofbeingbr oadcasted
tothepubli
catlargeoral lt
heuser’sfri
endsenmasse, becomesmor emani f
estandpal pable.

OnCy
berResponsi
bil
i
ty

Ithasbeensai dthat"thebestf i
lt
eri
stheonebet weeny ourchi
ldr
en’sears."
53Thi smeanst hat
self
-regulati
onont hepartofOSNuser sandi nternetconsumersingeneralisthebestmeansof
avoidingprivacyrightsviol
ations.
54Asacy berspacecommuni tymember ,onehast obe
proactiveinprotectinghisorherownpr iv
acy .
55I tisinthi
sregardthatmanyOSNuser s,
especiall
ymi nors, f
ail
.Responsibl
esocialnetworkingorobservanceofthe" neti
quettes"56on
thepar tofteenager shasbeent heconcernofmanyduet othewidespreadnotionthatteenager
s
cansomet i
mesgot oofarsincetheygenerall
ylackt hepeopleski
ll
sorgener alwisdom t o
conductt hemselv essensiblyinapubli
cforum. 57

RespondentSTCi sclearlyawar eoft hisandi ncor poratingl essonsongoodcy berciti

zenshipin
i
tscur riculum t oeducat ei tsstudent sonpr operonl ineconductmaybemost timely.Too, i
tisnot
onlySTCbutanumberofschool sandor ganizationshav eal r
eadydeemedi timpor tantto
i
ncludedi gital l
it
eracyandgoodcy berci t
izenshipinthei rrespectiveprogramsandcur ri
cul
ain
viewoft her isksthatt hechi l
drenar eexposedt oev er ytimet heypar ti
cipat
einonl ine
activi
ti
es. 58Fur t
hermor e, consideringt hecompl exityoft hecy berwor l
dandi ts
pervasiv eness, aswel last hedanger sthatthesechi ldrenar ewitti
nglyorunwi tt
inglyexposedt o
i
nv iewoft hei runsuper visedact i
viti
esi ncy ber
space, thepar ti
cipati
onoft hepar entsin
discipl
iningandeducat i
ngt heirchildrenaboutbei ngagooddi gitalci
tizenisencour agedby
theseinst itutionsandor ganizations.Inf act,i
tisbel i
ev edt hat"toli
mi tsuchrisks,there’
sno
subst i
tutef orpar ental i
nv ol
vementandsuper v
ision."59
Assuch, STCcannotbef ault
edforbei
ngst eadf
astinit
sdutyofteachingit
sstudentst
o
beresponsibl
eintheirdeal
i
ngsandactivit
iesincyber
space,par
ti
cularl
yinOSNs, wheni
t
enforcedthedisci
pli
naryacti
onsspeci
fiedintheStudentHandbook,absentashowingt
hat
,in
theprocess,i
tv i
olat
edthestudent
s’ri
ghts.

OSNuser sshouldbeawar eofther iskst hattheyexposet hemsel vestowhenev ertheyengage

i
ncy ber
spaceactivi
ties.
1âwphi1Accor dingl
y ,
theyshouldbecaut iousenought ocont r
olthei
r
pri
vacyandtoexer cisesounddi scret i
onr egardi
nghowmuchi nformat i
onaboutt hemselves
theyarewil
li
ngt ogiveup.Internetconsumer soughtt obeawar ethat,byent eri
ngorupl oadi
ng
anykindofdataori nformati
ononl i
ne, theyareaut omati
call
yandi nev i
tablymaki ngit
permanentl
yav ai
lableonli
ne,theper petuationofwhi chisoutsi
det heambi toftheircontr
ol.
Further
more,andmor eimportantly
, informat i
on,otherwisepr
ivate, v
oluntaril
ysur r
enderedby
them canbeopened, r
ead,orcopiedbyt hir
dpar t
ieswhomayormaynotbeal l
owedaccesst o
such.

Iti
s,t
hus, incumbentuponi nt
ernetuserstoexer ci
seduedi l
igencei nthei
ronl i
nedeal i
ngsand
acti
vi
tiesandmustnotbenegl i
gentinprotecti
ngt heirri
ghts.Equi t
yservesthev i
gil
ant.
Demandi ngr eli
effrom thecour ts,ashere,requi
rest hatclai
mant sthemselvest akeutmostcare
i
nsaf eguardingar i
ghtwhi chtheyal l
egetohav ebeenv i
olated.Thesear eindispensable.We
cannotaf f
or dprotectiontoper sonsiftheythemsel vesdidnot hingtoplacet hemat terwit
hin
theconfinesoft heirpr i
vatezone.OSNuser smustbemi ndful enoughtolearnt heuseofpr i
vacy
tool
s,touset hem iftheydesiret okeepthei nf
ormat ionprivate,andtokeept r
ackofchangesi n
theavail
abl eprivacyset ti
ngs,suchast hoseofFacebook, especi al
lybecauseFacebooki s
notor
iousf orchangi ngt hesesettingsandthesi t
e'slayoutof t
en.

I
nfindi
ngthatrespondentSTCandit
soffi
cial
sdi
dnotvi
olatet
heminor
s'pr
ivacyr
ight
s,Wef
ind
nocogentreasontodist
urbthef
indi
ngsandcasedi
sposi
tionoft
hecour
taquo.

I
nli
ghtoft
hef
oregoi
ng,
theCour
tneednotbel
abort
heot
herassi
gneder
ror
s.

WHEREFORE,pr
emisesconsi
dered,thepet
it
ioni
sher
ebyDENI
ED.TheDeci si
ondatedJul
y27,
2012oft
heRegi
onalTri
alCour
t,Branch14inCebuCi
tyi
nSP.Proc.No.19251-CEBisher
eby
AFFI
RMED.
Nopr
onouncementast
ocost
s.

SOORDERED.

PRESBI
TEROJ.VELASCO,
JR.

Associ
ateJust
ice

WECONCUR:

DI
OSDADOM.PERALTA

Associ
ateJust
ice

MARTI
NS.VI
LLARAMA,
JR.

Associ
ateJust
ice BI
ENVENI
DOL.REYES

Associ
ateJust
ice

FRANCI
SH.JARDELEZA

Associ
ateJust
ice

ATTESTATION

Iatt
estt
hatt
heconcl
usi
onsi
ntheaboveDeci
sionhadbeenreachedi
nconsul
tat
ionbef
oret
he
casewasassi
gnedtot
hewri
teroft
heopi
nionoftheCourt
'sDi
visi
on.

PRESBI
TEROJ.VELASCO,
JR.

Associ
ateJust
ice

Chai
rper
son
CERTIFICATION

Pursuantt
oSection13,Arti
cleVII
IoftheConsti
tut
ionandtheDivisi
onChair
person'
sAtt
est
ation,
Icert
if
ythatt
heconclusionsintheaboveDecisi
onhadbeenr eachedinconsul
tati
onbef
orethe
casewasassignedtothewr i
teroftheopi
nionoftheCourt
'sDivi
sion.

ANTONI
OT.CARPI
O

Act
ingChi
efJust
ice

Foot
not
es

1I
ssuedonJanuar
y22,
2008.

2PennedbyPr
esi
dingJudgeRaphael
B.Yr
ast
orza,
Sr.

3Facebooki sa" volunt

arysocialnetworktowhichmember ssubscri
beandsubmiti
nformati
on.
xxx.I thascreatedawor ldwideforum enabli
ngfr
iendstoshareinf
ormati
onsuchasthought
s,
l
inks,andphot ographs,withoneanot her
."(
Hv .W.,CaseNo.12/10142,
January30,
2013,Int
he
SouthGaut engHi ghCourt,Johannesburg,Republ
i
cofSout hAfri
ca).

4Byusi
ngt
he"
Fri
endsOnl
y"set
ti
ng.

5Usi
ng"
Publ
i
c"ast
hei
rPr
ivacySet
ti
ng.

6I
CM st
andsf
ort
he"
Missi
onar
ySi
ster
soft
heI
mmacul
ateHear
tofMar
y."
7Enti
tl
edDr .ArmeniaM.Tan,forandi
nbehal
fofherminorchi
ldv.St.Ther
esa’
sColl
ege,High
SchoolDepartment
,Sr.Cel
esteMa.Puri
simaPe,Mrs.
Mussoli
niS.Yap,Ms.MarnieD.Racaza,
Ms.Kri
sti
neRoseLi got(si
c),
andMs.Edit
aJosephi
neYu.

8Ent
it
ledRhondaAveS.Vivar
es,
andSps.Mar
gar
it
aandDav
idSuzar
av.St
.Ther
esa’
sCol
l
ege,
Myl
eneRhezaT.Escuder
o,andJohnDoes.

9Rol
l
o,p.39.

10A. M.No.08-
1-16-SC,
Febr
uary2,2008[
Sec.19.Appeal
.–Anypartymayappealf
rom the
j
udgmentorf i
nalordert
otheSupremeCourtunderRul
e45.Theappealmayr
aisequest
ionsof
factorl
aworboth.].

11I
d.,
Sec.1.

12Gamboav
.Chan,
G.R.No.193636,
Jul
y24,
2012,
677SCRA385.

13SeeAndresGuadamuz,HabeasDataandt
heEuropeanDataPr otect
ionDir
ecti
ve,
inTHE
JOURNALOFI NFORMATION,LAW ANDTECHNOLOGY( JI
LT)(2001),ci
tedinfor
merChief
Just
iceRey
natoS.Puno’
sspeech,TheCommonRighttoPriv
acy( 2008).

14Gamboav
.Chan,
supr
anot
e12.

15SeeRoxasv
.Macapagal
-Ar
roy
o,G.
R.No.189155,
Sept
ember7,
2010,
630SCRA211.

16InRecast i
ngPriv
acyTor tsinaSpacelessWor ldbyPatr
iciaSanchezAbr i
l
, t
het er
m usedto
ref
ertot hephysi
calspacewhi chposesanumberofpr oblemsi nprivacytortsthatoccurin
Cyberspace-aspacelesswor ld,i
s"spat
iall
inchpins.
"(HarvardJournal ofLaw&Technol ogy,
Vol.21,Number1Fal l2007);SeealsoKi
zza,JosephMi gga,EthicalandSoci alI
ssuesinthe
Inf
ormat i
onAge,ThirdEdit
ion,Spri
nger-
Verl
agLondonLi mited2007, p.303–" Thetotal
i
tyof
cyberspaceisinr
eali
tyabor derl
essself
regulati
nganddecent rali
zedmosai cofcommuni ti
es
wi
thav
ari
etyofcul
tur
al,
pol
i
tical
,andr
eli
giousagendas.
"

17From FormerChi
efJust i
ceReynatoPuno’sspeech,
"TheWr i
tofHabeasData,"del
i
veredon
19Nov ember2007,attheUNESCOPol icyFor
um andOr gani
zati
onal
Meet i
ngoft heI
nformat
ion
foral
lProgr
am (I
FAP), Phi
li
ppi
neNationalCommittee,
citi
ngEnri
queFalcon,HabeasData:
ConceptoyProcedi
mi ento23(1996)
.

18Commi t
teeontheRev
isi
onoft
heRul
esofCour
t,A.
M.No.08-
1-16-
SC,
Rul
eont
heWr
itof
HabeasData(2008)
.

19ht
tp:
//www.
mer
ri
am-
webst
er.
com/
dict
ionar
y/engage.LastaccessedFebr
uar
y13,
2013.

20Deli
veredbefor
etheForum onTheWr i
tofHabeasDat aandHumanRi ght
s,sponsoredbythe
Nati
onalUnionofPeoples’
Lawy er
sonMar ch12,2008attheInnot
echSeminarHall
,
Commonweal thAve.,
QuezonCi t
y.(ht
tp:
//sc.j
udi
ciar
y.gov
.ph/
speech/03-
12-
08-speech.
pdf.
Last
Accessed,January24,2013).

21Referst
othepri
vacythati
sf el
tinphy
sicalspace,
suchast
hatwhi
chmaybev
iol
atedby
tr
espassandunwarr
antedsearchandseizure.Id.

22Usuallydef
inedastherightofindi
vi
dual
stomakecer
tai
nki
ndsoff
undament
alchoi
ceswi
th
respectt
othei
rpersonalandreproducti
veaut
onomy
.Id.

23I
d.

24Romanov .Steelcase,Inc.andEducat i
onal &Instit
uti
onalSer v
icesInc.,SupremeCour tof
NewYor k,Suf f
olkCount y, 30Misc.3d426; 907N. Y.S.2d650; 2010N. Y.Misc.Lexis4538; 2010
NYSl i
pOp20388, September21, 2010,Decided.Seeal soKizza,JosephMi gga,Ethi
cal and
SocialI
ssuesi ntheI nformationAge,ThirdEditi
on, Spri
nger-
Ver l
agLondonLi mited2007, p.109,
"However,theseday sinthei nf
ormationage, t
hev alueofprivacyhasbeener oded.Wecanno
l
ongerguar anteeourpr i
vacy.Ithasleftmanywonder ingwhet herther
ei ssuchat hingas
pri
vacyanymor e.xxxNoonehasguar anteedpr i
vacyanymor eunlesssuchani ndiv
idual i
sno
l
ongerpartoft hesoci ety
."Page304r eads,"Accordingtorecentst udi
es,personal pr
ivacy
i
sbecomingthenumber -
onesocialandethicali
ssueofconcernfortheinf
ormat i
onage.
Advancesint
echnologyhavebroughtwit
ht hem gadget
rythathavediminishedindi
vi
dual
pri
vat
espacesthroughelect
roni
csur v
eil
l
anceandmoni t
oring,t
ransmissi
on,scanni
ng,t
appi
ng,
andfastandmoreef f
ici
entmeansofcollecti
ng,cat
egori
zing,andsort
ingdat a.
"

25Puno,
TheCommonRi
ghtt
oPr
ivacy
,supr
anot
e20.

26Supr
anot
e3.PennedbyJudgeN.P.Wi
l
li
s.

27Includingbutnotl i
mi t
edt othef oll
owing:name, residence, emai laddress,telephoneor
cell
ularphonenumber ,personal pictures,r
elat
ionshipst atus, dateofbi rt
h,currentlocati
on,
rel
ati
v es,
hobbi esandinterests,empl oyment,profession,educat i
onal background,preferences,
thoughts,messages, conversations, i
nter
netmemes, videos( rangingfrom personal vi
deost o
sceneext ract
sf r
om mov ies,tel
ev isionshows, news, etcet era) ,
photos, r
eli
giousmessages,
poli
ti
cal v
iews,updates,comment ariesandreactionst ocur rentev ents,supportandpr ayer
peti
ti
ons, aswel lasproductsandser vi
ces.

28ht
tp:
//newsr
oom.
fb.
com/
Key
-Fact
s.LastaccessedJanuar
y24,
2013.

29Hv
.W,
supr
anot
e3.

30I
d.

31Auser’
sprofi
lecontainsbasi
cinformati
onaboutt
heaccountowner,
i.e.Prof
il
ePi
cture,
Ful
l
name,Bi
rt
hdate,Address,Pl
aceofWor k,Pr
ofessi
on,
ali
stoftheuser
’s"FacebookFr
iends,
"
amongother
s.ItisakintoanIdent
if
icati
onCard.

32Supr
anot
e3.

33I
d.
34Westi
n,Al
an,Pr
ivacyandFr
eedom,
cit
edi
nVal
eri
eSt
eev
es’
wor
k,Recl
aimi
ngt
heSoci
al
Val
ueofPri
vacy
.

35Newel l
,Br
yceClay t
on, Ret
hinki
ngReasonabl
eExpect ati
onsofPr i
vacyinOnli
neSocial
Networks,Ri
chmondJour nalofLawandTechnologyVol .
XVII
,Issue4, 2011,
cit
ingAvnerLev
in
andPatri
ciaSanchezAbr il
,TwoNot i
onsofPri
vacyOnline,11VAND. J.ENT.&TECH.L.1001,
1012(2009)(ht
tp:/
/jol
t.r
ichmond.edu/v
17i4/
art
icl
e12.pdf.LastaccessedJanuar y31,
2013)

36I thasbeensuggest edthat:f

ocusont heindividual’
scont r
ol overinformational lowshi mto
decidef orhimsel fwhatmeasur eofpr i
vacytogr antcer t
aintopics.Itcanal sor eli
evethebur den
ofdet erminingr esponsibil
it
yforcert
ainper
ceivedpr iv
acybr eaches.Forexampl e,itiscleart
hat
theonl i
nesoci alizerwhopost sembar r
assi
ngpi cturesofhi msel fpublicl
yandwi thout
heightenedpr ivacysettingsisav i
cti
m ofhisownr ecklessbehav i
or.Bypubl i
cizing
embar rassinginf ormation,hevol
untaryrel
i
nquishedcont rol
—andal egal
lyrecogni zablepriv
acy
ri
ght —ov er
it.(
Av nerLev inandPatri
ciaSanchezAbr i
l
,TwoNot ionsofPr i
vacyOnl i
ne,11VAND. J.
ENT.&TECH.L.1001, 1012[ 2009])

37I nthesamev einthat"apersonhasar easonableexpectati

onofpriv
acyine- mailmessages
storedincomput er
st hathealonecouldretr
ievethroughuseofhisownassi gnedpasswor d.An
objecti
veexpectati
onofpr i
vacyexist
swi t
hr egardtoe-mailmessagesthataper sont r
ansmit
s
el
ect r
onical
lytoothersubscri
bersofthesameI nt
ernetservi
cewhohav eindiv
iduallyassi
gned
passwor ds.
"(Uni
tedSt at
esv.Maxwell,42M. J.568(A.F.
C.C.A.1995)
,45M. J.406[ C.A.
A.F.
1996])

38Romanov .St
eelcase,I
nc.
,SupremeCourtofNewYor
k,Suf
fol
kCount
y,30Misc.3d426;
907
N.Y.
S.2d650;2010N. Y.Mi
sc.LEXIS4538;
2010NYSli
pOp20388,Sept
ember21,2010.

39Rol
l
o,p.54.

40TSN,
Jul
y19,
2012,
pp.32-
34;
37.

41Rol
l
o,p.134
42Peopl
ev.Dol
ori
do,
G.R.No.191721,
Januar
y12,
2011,
639SCRA496.

43Sincethest
udent
smerel
yviewedthephotogr
aphsusingt
hei
rownaccount
swhi
char
eli
nked
tot
hepr of
il
esoft
heminor
s,t
heybeingFacebookfr
iends.

44214F.Supp.2dat225.

45Further
mor e,"[
a]per
sonwhopl acesinfor
mati
onont heinf
ormati
onsuper
highwaycl ear
ly
subj
ectssaidinf
or mati
ontobei
ngaccessedbyev eryconceiv
abl
einter
est
edparty.Simply
expr
essed,ifpri
vacyissought
,thenpubliccommunicat
ionmediumssuchastheInt er
netare
notadequateforumswi t
houtpr
otectiv
emeasures."I
d.

4645M.
J.406[
C.A.
A.F.199]

47McCar
thy
,Wat
sonandWel
don-
Siv
iy,
OwnYourSpace:
AGui
det
oFacebookSecur
it
y.

48McCar
thy
,Car
oli
ne,
Facebookuser
spr
ett
ywi
l
li
ngt
oaddst
ranger
sas‘
fr
iends’
(2007)

htt
p://
news. cnet.
com/ 8301-13577_3-
9759401-36.ht
ml ;
htt
ps://
threatpost.
com/ en_us/bl
ogs/facebook-
youshould-
only
-fr
iend-peopl
e-you-
know-no-
seri
ously-
wer e-
not-ki
dding-
081911; ht
tp://
blog.
kaspersky.
com/dont-be-f
acebook-
fri
ends-wi
th-
str
angers/.LastaccessedFebr uary1,2013.

49Shari
ngall
owsausert
opostcont
entf
rom anot
herpageoruser
,tohi
sorherownpageort
o
anot
heruser
’spage.

50Atagisaspeci al ki
ndofl i
nk.Whenyoutagsomeone, youcreat
ealinktotheirti
mel i
ne.The
posty
out agt hepersoninmayal sobeaddedtothatperson’
stimeli
ne.Forexampl e,youcan
tagaphotot oshowwho’ sinthephot
oorpostastatusupdateandsaywhoy ou’rewith.Ifyou
tagafr
iendiny ourstatusupdate,any
onewhoseest hatupdatecancli
ckony ourf r
iend’
sname
andgotot heirt
imeline.Yourstat
usupdat
emayal soshowupont hatfr
iend’
stimeline.(From
Facebook’
sHel
pCent
er,
htt
p:/
/www.
facebook.
com/
.LastaccessedApr
il23,
2013)

51From Pat
ri
ciaSanchezAbr
il
’sRecasti
ngPri
vacyTor
tsi
naSpacelessWorld,
supr
anot
e16,
ci
ti
ngLakshmiChaudhry,Mi
rr
orMirrorontheWeb,TheNat
ion,
January29,
2007.

52Rol
l
o,pp.41-
42.

53Par
ryAf
tabofWi
redSaf
ety
.or
g.

54Kizza,JosephMigga,
Ethi
cal
andSocial
Issuesi
ntheI
nfor
mat
ionAge,
Thi
rdEdi
ti
on,
Spr
ingerVerl
agLondonLimit
ed2007,
p.117

55I
d.at306.

56Net iquettei
st hesocialcodeofnetworkcommuni cation;i
tisthesocialandmor alcodeof
theinternetbasedont hehumancondi ti
onandt heGoldenRul eofNetiquette;
itisaphilosophy
ofeffectiveint
ernetcommuni cat
ionthatuti
l
izescommonconv enti
onsandnor msasagui defor
rul
esandst andards.ht
tp:/
/ www.net
worketi
quette.
net/.Lastaccessed,February18,2013.

57TechnologyTr
end:Responsibl
eSoci
alNetworki
ngfor
Teens,
htt
p://
www1.cy
f er
net.
org/t
ech/
06-08-
TeenUseSM.ht
ml.LastAccessed,
Febr
uar
y18,
2013.

58Kizza,JosephMi gga,supranote54,at341:"
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