Paparazzi, Privacy And The Big Picture In Hong Kong

Abstract

The newsgathering practices of journalists have long been under public scrutiny with one aspect of media behavior aggressive coverage of the personal lives of celebrities and others by paparazzi and reporters coming under increasing criticism. For many, such coverage has become a symbol of an unethical and unrestrained press; for others, it is a symptom of an increasingly competitive marketplace. In many countries, the public, governments, lawmakers and others have called for more regulations, additional laws and/or judicial intervention to rein in what they consider to be excessive privacy intrusion by the media. Efforts to define the relationship between the press and privacy rights have ranged from anti-paparazzi legislation passed in California to far-reaching decisions by the European Court of Human Rights that news photographers cannot take pictures of royal families on public streets. In Hong Kong, where rambunctious media and their puppy packs of paparazzi compete ever more fiercely in a minimally restrictive legal environment, escalating community concern may bring about radical changes in the law.