B.C. Hospital Employee’s Complaint Over Shared Nude Photo Dismissed Under New Intimate Image Law

A British Columbia hospital employee who claimed a nude photo of himself was shared without consent has had his complaint dismissed by the province’s Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT), which found the image didn’t meet the legal definition of an “intimate image.”

The case was filed under B.C.’s Intimate Images Protection Act (IIPA), which allows individuals to seek damages for the unauthorized distribution of nude or near-nude photos. The man, referred to as GW, sought $5,000 from his former partner and coworker, DM, alleging she had shared the image with their employer.

According to the CRT ruling, GW had taken the fully nude photo during a night shift at a hospital, claiming he was alone and that patients were monitored remotely. He used a doorstop to hold the door closed and said he typically posted a “Do not disturb” sign and drew the curtain during such breaks.

Roughly a year later, a workplace complaint led to an investigation, during which the photo surfaced. GW was suspended and placed on probation. He alleged DM must have provided the image, though she denied any involvement and pointed out that the photo was taken in a public workplace while on duty.

Tribunal member Andrea Ritchie dismissed the claim, stating GW had no reasonable expectation of privacy while taking a nude photo at work. Because of this, the image was not protected under the IIPA. "It was not objectively reasonable for an employee to expect privacy over an intimate image taken at work,” she wrote.

Ritchie also noted that even if the image had qualified as intimate, its limited disclosure — presumably only to GW’s employer — would fall within the public interest exemption outlined in the Act, particularly given that the image could be seen as "indecent exhibition in a public place" under the Criminal Code.

Ritchie said there wasn’t sufficient evidence to determine who shared the photo, but emphasized that whoever did so did not appear to distribute it beyond the employer. As such, no damages were awarded.

Introduced in January 2024, the IIPA was created to give individuals legal tools to address the non-consensual sharing of intimate images. However, the law also includes protections for limited disclosures made in the public interest, such as in workplace investigations.