Max Mosley's Right to Privacy
» Commentary
Nazisploitation and the Right to Privacy
A British judge has ruled in Sir Max Mosley’s favor in his lawsuit against The News of the World.
“I found that there was no evidence that the gathering of March 28, 2008, was intended to be an enactment of Nazi behavior or adoption of any of its attitudes,” the judge wrote.
He added that Mr. Mosley had a “reasonable expectation” of privacy for sexual activities that took place on private premises and that did not involve violations of the criminal law.
“There was no public interest or other justification for the clandestine recording, for the publication of the resulting information and still photographs, or for the placing of the video extracts on The News of the World Web site — all of this on a massive scale,” the judge said.
British Judge Rules Tabloid Report Tying Grand Prix Boss to ‘Orgy’ Violated Privacy
From Reason’s Hit &M Run:
Max Mosley’s victory in his lawsuit against The News of the World for reporting on his sadomasochistic proclivities illustrates the dangers of detaching a general “right to privacy” from its moorings in property and contract rights. Yesterday a British judge ordered the tabloid to pay Mosley about $1 million in damages and legal costs, concluding that it had unjustifiably invaded his privacy by paying a participant to secretly record a five-hour S&M session …
The Public Is Very Interested, but Not Legitimately