Halakha in the Age of Social Media -
Lesson 15
Confidentiality in the Age of Social Media 3: Public Information — Applications
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In loving memory of
Yitzchak ben Chaim Zvi Schwartz z"l, who passed away on 13 Shvat 5771
and Sheva Shayndel bat David Schwartz z"l, who passed away 13 Shvat 5778
Dedicated by Avi and Sarah Schwartz
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Halakhic models for the potential allowance to share secrets that are already public
Last week, we discussed the dispensation granted to repeat lishna bisha which has been said in front of three people. From this principle, we derived several possible models.
[1] Search Engine: Finding Meaning in Jewish Texts, Volume 1: Jewish Life (Kodesh Press, 2018), pp. 298-299. [2] Available at: https://www.yeshiva.org.il/ask/104573. [3] See here: https://www.cnet.com/news/snapchat-groups-mass-send-selfies-up-to-16-snaps/
- Rav Achai understands lishna bisha to be the prohibition against breaching confidentiality. He argues that when something is said in front of three people, there is presumed consent by the original speaker that the information be spread.
- We understood that according to Rav Achai, in cases where such consent cannot be assumed or is explicitly denied, it would be forbidden to spread the information.
- The Chafetz Chayim proposes that according to the Rashbam, once information is said in front of three people, it is permitted to repeat it, as it is assumed to be public.
- Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg agrees, though he bases the permission on the assumption that people have given up hope that their information will remain private once it has been said in such a way that anyone who shares the secret would have plausible deniability.
- Based on the Rambam’s presentation of this dispensation in the context of forbidden gossip, it can be argued that it is only permitted to spread the information if one does not have the intent to spread it further than it has spread.
- Rav Azriel Ariel and Rav Shlomo Aviner argue that information that is universally known will be permitted to be spread no matter what, without the limitation mentioned by the Rambam.
- Rav Avraham Shapira and Rav Dov Lior argue that this is only true while the information is universally known. Once people begin to forget, it becomes prohibited again.
- Rav Betzalel Stern notes that there can be cases where it is technically permitted to share a secret, but it remains unethical to do so. We wondered whether the same ethical imperative would exist in cases where the information is not just public, but universally known.
- Information that is shared within a closed group, whether of family, friends, or colleagues, is not assumed to be public just because it has been shared with a large group. Information shared within a closed group is not the same as information shared with a group of outsiders. In such cases, all the people can be expected, legally and realistically, to maintain the secret; thus, sharing it further is forbidden.
[1] Search Engine: Finding Meaning in Jewish Texts, Volume 1: Jewish Life (Kodesh Press, 2018), pp. 298-299. [2] Available at: https://www.yeshiva.org.il/ask/104573. [3] See here: https://www.cnet.com/news/snapchat-groups-mass-send-selfies-up-to-16-snaps/
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