Mother-in-law found daughter-in-law's flash drive and shared her documents on the Internet: court protected the right to privacy

The Industrial District Court of Dnipro city considered a case filed by a woman against her husband's mother regarding the protection of the right to privacy, removal of personal data from the Internet, and the return of a flash drive containing the plaintiff's personal documents and photos. The court partially satisfied the claim, obliging the defendant to delete the published personal data and posts concerning the plaintiff.

Case circumstances

The plaintiff applied to the court demanding the defendant return the flash drive containing her personal data, as well as delete and refrain from storing and disseminating any personal data about her in the future.

The court established that the defendant is the mother of the plaintiff's husband. There were conflictual relations between the parties. The defendant found a flash drive in her residence containing photos of the plaintiff, her family members, and copies of personal documents.

Subsequently, the defendant posted on the Internet, including Telegram, Facebook, and other online resources, photos of the plaintiff, including childhood and family photos, as well as copies of documents of the plaintiff and her relatives. Among the published materials were passport documents, taxpayer identification numbers, vehicle registration certificates, education documents, and other personal data.

In addition to posting photos and documents, the defendant published posts about the plaintiff and her family members. The plaintiff indicated that the dissemination of such information was done without her consent and violated her right to privacy.

In response to the claim, the defendant did not deny publishing information from the flash drive. At the same time, she reported that she later deleted her social media pages and sent the flash drive to the Central Directorate of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) along with a report of a possible crime.

During the case review, the court examined numerous screenshots of social media pages containing the plaintiff's and other persons' documents, family archive photos, login credentials, as well as the defendant's posts about the plaintiff and her family.

It was also established that by the ruling of the Industrial District Court of Dnipro city, information was entered into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations under the signs of a criminal offense under Part 1 of Article 182 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine regarding violation of privacy.

During the case, it was confirmed that the flash drive was sent by the defendant to the Central Directorate of the SBU after the claim was filed and later transferred to the National Police.

Court's position

The court noted that the defendant fully confirmed in the hearing the fact of disseminating the flash drive's contents on the Internet. However, she denied authorship of some posts published under the photos.

Nevertheless, the court concluded that the content of the relevant publications corresponds with the content of her response to the claim and other documents submitted to the case materials. The court also reviewed video recordings and other materials indicating that the defendant is the author of the respective posts.

The court established that the defendant, without legal grounds and without the plaintiff's consent, systematically posted on the Internet her photos and confidential information contained on the flash drive, as well as published information about the plaintiff's and her family's life.

The court emphasized that the right to private and family life is guaranteed by Article 32 of the Constitution of Ukraine, the Law "On Personal Data Protection," the Law "On Information," and the norms of the Civil Code of Ukraine. Confidential information about a person may only be disseminated with their consent or in cases explicitly provided by law.

The court stressed that photos of a person may be publicly shown and disseminated only with that person's consent, and collecting, storing, using, and disseminating information about personal life without consent is not permitted.

At the same time, the court concluded that the claim for the return of the flash drive should be denied. It was established during the case that the information carrier left the defendant's possession and was handed over to law enforcement agencies. The plaintiff did not prove that the flash drive remains in the defendant's possession, so satisfying this claim would not effectively protect her rights.

However, the court clarified the defendant's obligation to return the flash drive to the plaintiff if it is subsequently returned by law enforcement agencies or other persons.

Court conclusions

The court concluded that the plaintiff suffered unlawful interference with her private life due to the dissemination of personal data, photos, and other confidential information without her consent. The claim was partially satisfied.

In case No. 202/10708/25, the court ordered the defendant to delete from the Internet, including her personal social media pages, all information copied from the plaintiff's flash drive, including personal data and photos.

The defendant was also ordered to delete all posts related in any way to the plaintiff.

The court denied the claim for the return of the flash drive. Additionally, the defendant was ordered to pay the plaintiff court fees amounting to 2,422.40 UAH.

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