Privacy Issues Question regarding names.

[TDBF]

I have a member who is complaining about other members calling him by their first name on the forums and they're citing that this is a breach of their privacy (They used their whole name as the username btw), and I tried to example that by using their name as a username they gave away those rights as it was now public domain.

This user now wants me to delete their old account and recreate another one because they don't want people knowing they are, but it will probably be very obvious to who they are when they start posting again.

My question is this, is it a breach of privacy for another person to call someone by their first name on a public place such as a forum, is this in breach of EU GDPR or UK laws?

[Joel R]

So, the user discloses his full name, wants users to call him by that name, then gets mad when users do so?

With that said, it wouldn't hurt to try to help him as much as possible by simply changing his username.  

You can also run an SQL query or word Filter to change all prior instances of his first name to his new username.  

[opentype]

10 minutes ago, TDBF said:

by using their name as a username they gave away those rights as it was now public domain.

Well, that part is certainly not true. 

Quote

My question is this, is it a breach of privacy for another person to call someone by their first name on a public place such as a forum, is this in breach of EU GDPR or UK laws?

GDPR is deliberately vague in such issues. I doubt you will find any official confirmation which draws a line between first name only vs. full name. In the end, it is about identification and a first name can be part of that process. 

As Joel said: Just let them do the changes they want. It’s the easiest path for everyone involved.

[TDBF]

20 minutes ago, Joel R said:

So, the user discloses his full name, wants users to call him by that name, then gets mad when users do so?

That is exactly it in a nut shell. I have added it to the 'I can't believe I just read that' comments.

17 minutes ago, opentype said:

Well, that part is certainly not true. 

If they choose to use their full name as their username then their identity has become public knowledge and in the public domain, I'm not sure what's not true about that?

My forum is a fans football forum for a Scottish football club, and this person is well known in that inner circle. This person is also the Chairman of one of the clubs supporter groups and is well known by the supporters of the football team. So when they add their photo and supporter group to their profile, it's not that hard to get 1+1=2.

22 minutes ago, opentype said:

GDPR is deliberately vague in such issues. I doubt you will find any official confirmation which draws a line between first name only vs. full name. In the end, it is about identification and a first name can be part of that process.

When reading up about this I am finding the same, but a lot of people are saying that since a first name is 'vague' that it may not be a privacy issue.

34 minutes ago, Joel R said:

With that said, it wouldn't hurt to try to help him as much as possible by simply changing his username.

I will probably end up deleting his account and let him create a new one and take it from there.

Thanks for the advice.

[opentype]

14 minutes ago, TDBF said:

If they choose to use their full name as their username then their identity has become public knowledge and in the public domain, I'm not sure what's not true about that?

Public knowledge has little to do with public domain. Public domain is a specific term with a specific meaning. In this context, it would mean the person has waived his rights completely and forever, but that just isn’t true. Not even close. The right to be forgotten is an explicit part of the GDPR and as such law in EU countries. Just because the data was giving voluntarily, doesn’t meant that the rights were waived. A right to remove the personal data continues the exists. With GDPR now more explicitly than ever before. 

[TDBF]

7 minutes ago, opentype said:

Public knowledge has little to do with public domain. Public domain is a specific term with a specific meaning. In this context, it would mean the person has waived his rights completely and forever, but that just isn’t true. Not even close. The right to be forgotten is an explicit part of the GDPR and as such law in EU countries. Just because the data was giving voluntarily, doesn’t meant that the rights were waived. A right to remove the personal data continues the exists. With GDPR now more explicitly than ever before. 

I disagree, in this case he used his name, his photograph and his supporter group website, therefore putting this information into the public domain (call it what you will). If he wanted to remain anonymous, then he should have thought things more clearly before creating his account and adding the information he did. Therefore, he choose to make that information public, not us.

No one is refusing his rights to be forgotten here, and I will comply with his request. But, the question I asked, is it breach of privacy if someone else calls them by their first name in a public forum?

[opentype]

15 minutes ago, TDBF said:

Therefore, he choose to make that information public, not us.

And no one has questioned that. But you concluded from that, “they gave away those rights”, which is factually wrong, as I proved to you by linking the law, which clearly refutes what you are saying. 
Rights are not automatically waived this way. I can reverse a voluntary order in your online shop for example within 14 days, and I can reverse my consent for the use of personal data – irrespective of the fact, that I made this order voluntarily and gave the personal information voluntarily. 

 

24 minutes ago, TDBF said:

But, the question I asked, is it breach of privacy if someone else calls them by their first name in a public forum?

As said before: There is no simple yes-or-no answer for that. 

[bfarber]

 

 

1

18 hours ago, TDBF said:

But, the question I asked, is it breach of privacy if someone else calls them by their first name in a public forum?

A "breach of privacy" occurs when private information is exposed - based on what you are describing, it doesn't sound like that has occurred here. The user used their name as their display name, so they were the one who exposed this information.

That said, if you are looking for legal opinions as to your exposure to violating any set of laws, your best bet would be to speak to a local attorney. I couldn't even tell you from here if there are any laws against a breach of privacy in your home country.

[Eric BXL]

This is absurd, but made me laugh.

Whether my name is Eric, Glen or John, I registered here with "Eric" and would never start complaining if people would say "Hey Eric, blah, blah blah..."

If I don't want others to call me Eric, then I should have opted to register using a nickname!

[Joel R]

1 hour ago, Eric BXL said:

This is absurd, but made me laugh.

Whether my name is Eric, Glen or John, I registered here with "Eric" and would never start complaining if people would say "Hey Eric, blah, blah blah..."

If I don't want others to call me Eric, then I should have opted to register using a nickname!

Hello Eric

[Steve Bullman]

10 hours ago, Joel R said:

Hello Eric

Looks more like a John to me

[Joel R]

41 minutes ago, Steve Bullman said:

Looks more like a John to me

Definitely a John.  

[Thomas P]

5 hours ago, Steve Bullman said:

Looks more like a John to me

Please don't disclose his alter ego