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Texas Privacy: What you need to know

The legal claim of invasion of privacy is made up of four distinct theories. Texas recognizes three of the four; namely, intrusion upon solitude or seclusion, public disclosure of private facts (e.g., unreasonable publicity given to one's private life), and appropriation of one's name or likeness. Although several lower courts and federal courts interpreting Texas law have recognized false light invasion of privacy, the Texas Supreme Court has so far declined to recognize the claim (Cain v. Hearst Corp., 878 S.W. 2d 577 (Tex. 1994)).
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State law prohibits intentionally intercepting, endeavoring to intercept, or procuring another person to intercept a wire, oral, or electronic communication. The law also prohibits the disclosure or use of the contents of the communication. The law allows interception under certain circumstances, including interception in the ordinary course of business and interception with the prior consent of one of the parties to the communication. Violation of the statute is considered a felony (TX Penal Code Sec. 16.02).
It is a felony to obtain, possess, transfer, or use another person's identifying information without the other person's consent with intent to harm or defraud the other person (TX Penal Code Sec. 32.51). Identifying information is defined as any information that identifies an individual, including a person's: name and Social Security number (SSN), date of birth, or government-issued identification number; biometric data (i.e., fingerprints, voice prints, and retina or iris images); electronic identification number, address, routing code, or financial institution account number; and telecommunication identifying information or access device.
It is also illegal to commit identify theft through the use of an electronic device. A person is guilty of this crime if he or she uses a scanning device or re-encoder to access, read, scan, store, or transfer information encoded on the magnetic strip of a payment card (i.e., a credit, debit, or check card) without the consent of an authorized user of the card and with the intent to harm or defraud (

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More on this topic:

expand-collapse sectionInvasion of Privacy
expand-collapse sectionWiretapping
expand-collapse sectionIdentity Theft
expand-collapse sectionSecurity Breaches
expand-collapse sectionSocial Security Numbers
expand-collapse sectionComputer Offenses
expand-collapse sectionAdditional Information

State Requirements

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Texas Privacy Resources

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