WASHINGTON — In a lively decision that relied as much on dictionaries, grammar and usage as it did on legal analysis, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled unanimously that corporations have no personal privacy rights for purposes of the Freedom of Information Act.
AT&T, the plaintiff in the case, had sought to block the release of documents it had provided to the government, arguing under an exemption to the law that applied to records that “could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.” The company’s strongest argument was that the statutory definition of the noun “person” specifically included corporations and other entities.
Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the court, was having none of that: “We often use the word ‘personal’ to mean precisely the opposite of business- related: We speak of personal expenses and business expenses, personal life and work life, personal opinion and a company’s view.” The Associated Press
