DLess than half of the general public support the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland’s provision that secret recordings by journalists via hidden cameras and microphones be allowed in “exceptional circumstances” that are also in the public interest.
Some 44 per cent of the 1,008 people polled on the BAI’s behalf by Ipsos MRBI said this part of its fairness, objectivity and impartiality code was “unacceptable”, while 9 per cent said they didn’t know or declined to answer. That left just 47 per cent who deemed this part of the code “acceptable”.
Violation of rights
Of the 448 people who said secret or undisclosed recordings were unacceptable, 26 per cent cited "invasion of privacy" as the reason for their view, while 22 per cent said the subjects of the recording should have been informed.
Some 17 per cent believed it wasn’t nice or fair to make secret recordings, 15 per cent said it was a violation of peoples’ rights and 7 per cent expressed their concerns that the information could be manipulated.
Secret recordings were most likely to be deemed acceptable in cases where they were used to uncover negligence that endangers the health and safety of vulnerable members of society.
They were least likely to be approved in incidences where they were used to uncover anti-social activities, the survey found.
The research was conducted in July 2012, a year after the phone hacking scandal in Britain prompted the closure of the News of the World and left the public suspicious about the "fishing expedition" methods used by media groups willing to invade their targets' privacy and break the law to get stories.
