74 Am. U. L. Rev. F. 89 (2024).

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Abstract

This Note examines the significant privacy risks faced by children of celebrities, referred to as “non-celebrity children,” who are often subjected to invasive scrutiny and exploitation by the media and paparazzi due to their parents’ fame. The publication of these children’s personal identifying information—such as their names, photographs, and other private details—without consent arguably constitutes unreasonable publicity, as it exposes non-celebrity children to harm without any justifiable public interest. The Note critiques the inadequacies of current U.S. privacy laws, which fail to sufficiently protect these vulnerable children from nonconsensual disclosure of their private information. It calls for extending legal protections, specifically the privacy-based tort of unreasonable publicity, to prevent the publication of non-celebrity children’s personal information while still allowing other types of publication, advocating for a balance between the freedom of the press and the right to privacy. This would allow the media to continue reporting on public figures while safeguarding the well-being of non-celebrity children, ultimately reducing children’s exposure to harmful paparazzi behaviors and the various harms posed by public exposure.

* Editor-in-Chief, American University Law Review, Volume 74; J.D. Candidate, May 2025, American University Washington College of Law; Peace, War & Defense, B.A. and Psychology, B.A., 2020, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Thank you to the American University Law Review, specifically Lars Emerson, Brian Frank, Hallie Hoffmann, Kylee Smith, and Krista Zamurs for your thoughtful and tireless work editing this piece, and to Volume 73 for selecting my Note for publication. Thank you to my parents for encouraging me throughout the writing process and providing invaluable feedback.