Quickie: Max Mosely Wins Privacy Case

Elizabeth — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 06:11:50 -0700

Max Mosely, head of Formula One racing, won his privacy suit against the British tabloid "News Of The World." The New York Times reports:

The judge, Sir David Eady, awarded Mr. Mosley, 68, damages equivalent to about $120,000 and legal costs estimated to be at least $850,000 in his lawsuit against The News of the World.

Question: Because this was a lawsuit it had to be framed in terms of a legal question, hence the focus on "press freedom" v. "individual privacy", but wouldn't this kind of thing be better discussed in terms of journalistic ethics? Instead of worrying about whether this decision represents a limiting of freedom of the British press, should the British press be discussing ways to make sure its members adhere to ethical reporting standards?

I'm all for investigative journalism, but there has to be something in the public interest to justify it. Exposing a person's private, legal, consensual sexual activity is certainly not in the public interest. It may be very interesting to the public, but that's not the same thing!

Eisenstadt v. Baird

Elizabeth — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 06:45:12 -0700

In 1972 the US Supreme Court decides that laws criminalizing the distribution of contraception to unmarried people are unconstitutional.

Griswold v. Connecticut

Elizabeth — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 06:41:20 -0700

In 1965 the US Supreme Court finds that laws prohibiting the distribution of contraception to married people violates people's rights to privacy.