DataBreaches.Net

Menu
  • About
  • Breach Notification Laws
  • Privacy Policy
  • Transparency Report
Menu

Media should not have quoted from psychologist's letter – OpEd

Posted on March 16, 2013 by Dissent

On March 13, the Iowa City Press-Citizen published a front-page story that quoted from a psychologist’s letter about a patient seeking a gun permit. That patient was subsequently involved in a standoff with police in which  he shot and injured three North Liberty police officers, and he was shot and killed by police.

In response to the publication of excerpts from the psychologist’s letter, provided by the sheriff’s office, two local psychologists wrote an OpEd criticizing the media. It reads, in part:

Your editorial decision to highlight and publish a letter written by a local psychologist in support of the deceased shooter’s application for a gun permit in 2010 is an example of salacious journalism that served to confuse your readers rather than inform and educate them.

[…]

It is difficult enough for people to seek mental health treatment due to barriers such as access to care and the risk of social stigma. Freedom of information laws notwithstanding, publishing any part of a patient’s mental health record reinforces existing fears that asking for help is not worth the risk. After all, how many of us would trust a professional with sensitive and private information if we believed it might show up on the front page of the local paper?

Read the full OpEd here.

I realize that gun permits are a matter of increasing public concern and scrutiny, but I also agree with the psychologists that publishing a psychologist’s report on a patient is problematic and may dissuade people from seeking help.  In this case,  because the patient presumably asked the psychologist to prepare the report, he knew the contents would be shared with at least some others. That said, I doubt if he ever expected it would be published for the general public in its entirety, and I wonder how the paper’s editorial decision may impact others who are considering seeking mental health treatment but who want to be able to get a gun permit.

 via Ken Pope’s mail list

No related posts.

Category: Uncategorized

Post navigation

← More problems for Subway: Feds charge two men in plot to sell hacked Subway gift cards worth $40,000
General Services Administration discloses vulnerability; starts notifying those potentially affected →

2 thoughts on “Media should not have quoted from psychologist's letter – OpEd”

  1. Anonymous says:
    March 18, 2013 at 1:21 pm

    The story seems to indicate that the letter was provided by the police to the newspapers. Given the man’s actions and the newsworthiness of the role of psychology in his (possibly) using that letter in obtaining a firearm, it’s hard for me to argue that the newspapers shouldn’t have published pieces of it. This is the year of “free speech” v. privacy it seems…

    1. Anonymous says:
      March 18, 2013 at 4:46 pm

      I don’t think anyone’s suggesting that what anyone did was illegal. I think one could ask whether such letters provided as part of background checks should be exempt from disclosure under open records law. Most of us – myself included – would probably say they shouldn’t be exempt, but then we need to deal with the impact of such disclosures on people seeking therapy. Will public disclosure result in more gun violence because someone decided not to risk public disclosure? I don’t know…

Comments are closed.

Now more than ever

"Stand with Ukraine:" above raised hands. The illustration is in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine's flag.

Search

Browse by Categories

Recent Posts

  • Five youths arrested on suspicion of phishing
  • Russia Jailed Hacker Who Worked for Ukrainian Intelligence to Launch Cyberattacks on Critical Infrastructure
  • Kentfield Hospital victim of cyberattack by World Leaks, patient data involved
  • India’s Max Financial says hacker accessed customer data from its insurance unit
  • Brazil’s central bank service provider hacked, $140M stolen
  • Iranian and Pro-Regime Cyberattacks Against Americans (2011-Present)
  • Nigerian National Pleads Guilty to International Fraud Scheme that Defrauded Elderly U.S. Victims
  • Nova Scotia Power Data Breach Exposed Information of 280,000 Customers
  • No need to hack when it’s leaking: Brandt Kettwick Defense edition
  • SK Telecom to be fined for late data breach report, ordered to waive cancellation fees, criminal investigation into them launched

No, You Can’t Buy a Post or an Interview

This site does not accept sponsored posts or link-back arrangements. Inquiries about either are ignored.

And despite what some trolls may try to claim: DataBreaches has never accepted even one dime to interview or report on anyone. Nor will DataBreaches ever pay anyone for data or to interview them.

Want to Get Our RSS Feed?

Grab it here:

https://databreaches.net/feed/

RSS Recent Posts on PogoWasRight.org

  • On July 7, Gemini AI will access your WhatsApp and more. Learn how to disable it on Android.
  • German court awards Facebook user €5,000 for data protection violations
  • Record-Breaking $1.55M CCPA Settlement Against Health Information Website Publisher
  • Ninth Circuit Reviews Website Tracking Class Actions and the Reach of California’s Privacy Law
  • US healthcare offshoring: Navigating patient data privacy laws and regulations
  • Data breach reveals Catwatchful ‘stalkerware’ is spying on thousands of phones
  • Google Trackers: What You Can Actually Escape And What You Can’t

Have a News Tip?

Email: Tips[at]DataBreaches.net

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

Contact Me

Email: info[at]databreaches.net

Mastodon: Infosec.Exchange/@PogoWasRight

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

DMCA Concern: dmca[at]databreaches.net
© 2009 – 2025 DataBreaches.net and DataBreaches LLC. All rights reserved.