What is the current state of the law on the right to privacy?

Second, the right to privacy "is well settled." Grafilo v. Wolfsohn, 33 Cal. App. 5th 1024, 1034, 245 Cal. Rptr. 3d 564, 571 (2019) (citations omitted). The right to privacy, however, is not absolute. Id. at 571-72 (citations omitted). Potential invasions of privacy are ordinarily evaluated by balancing the privacy interest at stake and the seriousness of the threatened invasion with the strength of legitimate and important countervailing interests. Id. at 572 (citations omitted). In balancing these interests, courts should also consider whether "'[p]rotective measures, safeguards[,] and other alternatives may minimize the privacy intrusion.'" Id.

Unlike a privilege, the right of privacy is not an absolute bar to discovery. Rather courts balance the need for information against the claimed privacy right. Ragge v. MCA/Universal, 165 F.R.D. 601, 604-05 (C.D. Cal 1995). A patient's constitutional right of privacy in receiving medical treatment may be an alternative source of protection to the physician-patient

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