hacking
Any reason not to out someone for having an Ashley Madison account?
<p>Suppose I torrent the file and see the name and address of my neighbor associated with an Ashley Madison account. Suppose he is a somewhat prominent business owner or local politician.     Can I be sued for posting this information somewhere online?</p>

<p>In most states in the United States, you can be sued. Whether or not the suit is successful will depend on facts related to the newsworthiness of what you publish. The Digital Media Law Project has a page where they discuss suing over the <a href="http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/publication-private-facts" rel="nofollow">Publication of Private Facts</a>.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>A plaintiff must establish four elements to hold someone liable for publication of private facts:</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li><strong>Public Disclosure</strong>: The disclosure of facts must be public. Another way of saying this is the defendant must "give publicity" to the fact or facts in question.</li>
  <li><strong>Private Fact</strong>: The fact or facts disclosed must be private, and not generally known.</li>
  <li><strong>Offensive to a Reasonable Person</strong>: Publication of the private facts in question must be offensive to a reasonable person of ordinary sensibilities.</li>
  <li><strong>Not Newsworthy</strong>: The facts disclosed must not be newsworthy. Stated differently, the facts disclosed must not be a matter of legitimate public concern.</li>
  </ol>
</blockquote>

<p>The person filing suit would have to show that the facts disclosed were not newsworthy. That is, they were not of public concern.</p>

<p>Just because someone is prominent or famous doesn't mean they lose all rights to privacy.</p>

<p>From <a href="https://law.resource.org/pub/us/case/reporter/F2/527/527.F2d.1122.72--2851.html" rel="nofollow">Virgil v. Time, Inc.</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The line to be drawn when the publicity ceases to be the giving of information to which the public is entitled, and becomes a morbid and sensational prying in to private lives for its own sake, with which a reasonable member of the public, with decent standards, would say that he had no concern.</p>
</blockquote>
