Legal Definitions - secrecy

Secrecy refers to the state of keeping information, actions, or facts hidden or unknown, especially from individuals or groups who have a legitimate interest in knowing them or whose interests might be significantly affected by such concealment.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Imagine a pharmaceutical company that discovers a serious, undisclosed side effect of a new drug during its final testing phase. To avoid delays in market launch and potential financial losses, the company decides to keep this information confidential from regulatory agencies and the public. This situation demonstrates secrecy because critical health and safety information, which directly affects potential patients and healthcare providers, is intentionally being withheld from those who have a right and a need to know.

• Consider a local government agency that is planning a major infrastructure project, such as building a new highway, which will require the acquisition of private land through eminent domain. The agency conducts several closed-door meetings to finalize the route and budget without informing the affected property owners or the general public, despite laws requiring public disclosure and input for such projects. This is an act of secrecy because vital decisions that will directly impact residents' property and livelihoods are being concealed from them, preventing their participation and objections.

• In a business acquisition, a company negotiating to buy another firm discovers during due diligence that the target company has a pending lawsuit that could result in substantial financial penalties, but the target company deliberately omits this information from the disclosed financial records and discussions. This constitutes secrecy because crucial financial and legal liabilities, which would significantly influence the acquiring company's valuation and decision to proceed with the purchase, are being intentionally hidden.