The Congress of the United States, in its enactment of the Privacy Act of 1974, set forth the following provision concerning the disclosure of Social Security account numbers by individuals to governmental bodies:

The right of privacy, as recognized under American jurisprudence, is hereby defined as:

1. the right of a person to be free from unwarranted publicity;
2. freedom from the unwarranted appropriation or exploitation of one’s personality;
3. freedom from the publicizing of one’s private affairs with which the public has no legitimate concern; and
4. freedom from the wrongful intrusion into one’s private activities in such manner as to outrage or cause mental suffering, shame, or humiliation to a person of ordinary sensibilities.

See Hogin v. Cottingham, 533 So. 2d 525 (Ala. 1988).

The right of privacy is comprised of two principal and distinct aspects, to wit:

1. The General Law of Privacy — affording a tort action for damages resulting from any unlawful invasion of privacy; and
2. The Constitutional Right of Privacy — protecting personal privacy against unlawful governmental invasion.

An invasion of privacy constitutes a tort founded in common law, permitting any aggrieved party to commence a civil action against an individual who unlawfully:

• i. intrudes into his or her private affairs;
• ii. discloses his or her private information;
• iii. publicizes him or her in a false light; or
• iv. appropriates his or her name for personal gain.