If I take a screen shot of a private message and distribute it more widely, is that a privacy breach?

It can be – but in any case, generally you shouldn’t do it without the sender’s permission.

If you take a screenshot of information you obtained in your capacity as an employee or business owner (about a client for example) and distribute that inappropriately or make it public outside the agency this is likely to be a privacy breach, which could raise issues for both you and your employer.

However, if you distribute a screen shot of a private message as a private citizen, you probably will not be breaching the Privacy Act. This is because the Privacy Act generally does not apply to “domestic affairs”. There is an exception to this if the subject matter distributed would be “highly offensive to an ordinary reasonable person.”

The fact that distributing a private message may not be a breach of privacy does not mean that you can do so without any legal consequences. The Harmful Digital Communications Act(external link) sets out principles to prevent harm from certain online behaviours such as cyber bullying, spreading personal information and so on. There are also consequences under other laws, such as the Harassment Act.

The general rule of the thumb is that you should not take a screenshot of a private message and distribute it more widely – at least not without the other person’s permission.