If a person's name or image is used in reporting of a newsworthy event, privacy rights are not transgressed. Which choice reflects this?

• A. Using in advertising without consent
• B. A private social media post
• C. Reporting of a newsworthy event
• D. A movie promotional trailer

Answer: (C)

The key idea is that there’s a distinction between privacy or publicity rights and what the press may publish when it concerns reporting on events of public interest. When a person’s name or image is used to report a newsworthy event, it’s treated as part of informing the public about matters of public concern, and the First Amendment protection for news reporting overrides ordinary privacy or misappropriation concerns. That’s why using a person’s name or likeness in the context of reporting a newsworthy event is not a privacy violation.

The other scenarios involve uses that are not about informing the public about a current event: advertising or promotional use of a name or image is a commercial use that typically requires consent or licensing; a private social media post may involve private information or non-news content and isn’t protected by a news-reporting exception; a movie trailer is a promotional commercial use of likeness and also requires permission.