Privacy is a basic right & can't be overlooked in favour of the public interest, argues Lord Faulks
Summary
TLDRThe debate centers on the balance between the public's interest in politicians' lives and their right to privacy. The speaker argues that while the media and opposition scrutinize public figures like politicians, they should not infringe on their private lives unless it's directly relevant to their public duties. Historically, privacy laws were vague, but recent developments have recognized the right to privacy, especially influenced by European human rights law. The speaker, chairing an independent press standards organization, emphasizes the importance of respecting individuals' privacy as a fundamental human right, even in the public eye.
Takeaways
- 🗳️ The debate centers on the balance between the public's interest in politicians' lives and the right to privacy of public figures.
- 🏛️ Politicians, as lawmakers and decision-makers, have a public role and are subject to scrutiny, but there is a question about the extent of their private lives that should be exposed.
- 🤔 The speaker argues against the notion that the public and media have the right to judge every aspect of a public figure's private life.
- 🎟️ An example given is the controversy over Michael Gove accepting football tickets, highlighting the difference between serious and trivial matters in public interest.
- 📺 The speaker reflects on how much has changed in terms of public figures' privacy, citing historical examples of politicians whose careers ended due to private scandals.
- 🏳️🌈 A shift in societal attitudes is noted, with many politicians now openly gay, which would have been a career-ender in the past.
- 📰 The speaker discusses the role of the free press in holding politicians accountable and the challenge of determining relevance in reporting on private lives.
- 📜 Historically, there was no law of privacy in the UK, but the legal landscape has evolved to recognize privacy rights, influenced by European Court of Human Rights case law.
- 📋 The speaker, as the chairman of the independent press standards organization, outlines the guidelines for respecting privacy while allowing for justified intrusions.
- 👥 The debate extends beyond politicians to other public figures like industry leaders, celebrities, and influencers, who also have a right to privacy but are subject to public interest.
- 🔍 The tension between public curiosity and the rights of individuals to privacy is a central theme, with the speaker advocating for the protection of privacy as a fundamental human right.
Q & A
What is the central debate discussed in the transcript?
-The central debate is the tension between the public's interest in knowing about public figures' private lives and the right to privacy of these individuals.
Who are considered public figures according to the transcript?
-Public figures include politicians, members of the Parliament, and other individuals in positions of power who make decisions that affect the public's lives.
Why is the media's role important in relation to public figures?
-The media's role is to scrutinize public figures, hold them accountable, and inform the public about their actions, especially when it involves matters of public interest.
What is the speaker's view on the private life of politicians?
-The speaker believes that while the public may be curious, politicians are still entitled to a private life and should not have every aspect of their lives exposed.
What example is given about politicians and their private lives in the past?
-The speaker mentions Jeremy Thorpe, the leader of the Liberal Party, who was forced to hide his sexual orientation and faced a conspiracy to murder trial due to an affair.
How has the perception of privacy for politicians changed over time?
-In the past, politicians' private lives were largely unknown to the public. Nowadays, many politicians are open about their sexual orientation, and the public is more aware of their personal lives.
What is the role of the independent press standards organization mentioned in the transcript?
-The independent press standards organization regulates the press, handling complaints against it, including those related to privacy violations.
What is the provision regarding privacy in the independent press standards organization's guidelines?
-The provision states that everyone is entitled to respect for their private and family life, and editors are expected to justify intrusions into an individual's private life.
How does the law of privacy in the UK relate to the European Court of Human Rights?
-The UK law of privacy has evolved to recognize the right to privacy partly due to case law from the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
What is the speaker's stance on the right to judge public figures' private lives?
-The speaker argues against the right to judge, stating that individuals, even if in public life, should have the right to privacy for aspects of their lives that are not of public interest.
How does the speaker define the public interest in the context of privacy?
-The speaker defines public interest as the rightful concern of the public in matters that affect them, but this should not infringe upon the basic human right to privacy of individuals.
Outlines
🗳️ Public Interest vs. Privacy of Public Figures
The speaker discusses the debate on the balance between the public's interest in the lives of politicians and their right to privacy. Politicians make crucial decisions that affect society, and while the opposition and media are responsible for scrutinizing them, the speaker questions the extent to which their private lives should be exposed. Examples are given, such as Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock, to illustrate situations where the boundary between public interest and privacy is blurred. The speaker argues against the notion that the public has a right to judge every aspect of a public figure's private life, emphasizing the need for a distinction between relevant and irrelevant personal information.
📜 The Evolution of Privacy Laws and Public Figures
This paragraph delves into the evolution of privacy laws, influenced by case law from the European Court of Human Rights. The speaker, who is the chairman of an independent press standards organization, explains the current provisions regarding privacy, which allow for intrusion into an individual's private life only if justified. The speaker highlights the tension between public interest and the right to privacy, especially for celebrities and public figures who often use the press for their benefit. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the importance of respecting individuals' privacy as a fundamental human right, suggesting that the public's curiosity should be secondary to this right.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Public Interest
💡Privacy
💡Public Figures
💡Media Scrutiny
💡Accountability
💡Political Decisions
💡Sexual Orientation
💡Defamation
💡Independent Press Standards Organization
💡Celebrity
💡TikTok Stars
Highlights
Debate on the tension between public interest in politicians' lives and their right to privacy.
Politicians make important decisions affecting citizens' lives and are subject to scrutiny.
Questioning if politicians are entitled to any private life.
Critique of the public's right to judge politicians' private lives.
Examples of politicians' indiscretions and the public's reaction.
The role of the media in scrutinizing politicians' actions.
The evolving nature of privacy and public figures over time.
Historical lack of privacy laws and the development of privacy rights.
The impact of European Court of Human Rights on privacy laws.
The chairman's role in the independent press standards organization.
Press regulation and the balance between public interest and privacy.
The public's natural curiosity versus the right to privacy.
The debate's conclusion emphasizing the importance of privacy rights.
Transcripts
at the heart of this
debate lies a tension between what the
public are or might be interested in and
make judgments about so we're told
that's one view of public interest and
what is properly to be regarded as a
matter of public
interest Madam president it's a pleasure
to be here but may I make it clear that
I am not standing for election on any
office of this esteemed ion um who are
public figures well politicians of
course uh they make laws in Parliament
they decide if we're going to war how
much tax we're going to pay and they
make decisions that affect our lives in
all sorts of ways there are
Representatives even if we didn't vote
for them and it's the job of the
opposition and of the media to
scrutinize them but are they entitled to
any private life at
all now you may think you know more than
you need or want to know about Boris
Johnson or Matt Hancock as we've heard
this evening who chose to expose himself
both literally and metaphorically to
CCTV cameras and on the television today
we we learn that Michael Gove is in
trouble because he accepted two tickets
to Queens Park Rangers
football uh from a a sponsor who had a
covid cont contract I have to say it's a
serious matter we're entitled to know
about it but if you're going to bribe
somebody two tickets to QPR doesn't seem
to me a very serious
offer now the proposers of the motion
appear to be saying that public
interests entitles us to know about
anybody's private lives whether they
like it or not they've rather elided the
motion elevated their right to judge
above the right to make proper allowance
for the
individual's uh right to privacy what is
this business about the right to judge I
don't have the right to judge uh what is
something about your private life that
you should be able to keep private even
if you're in public life this is
something of a moving picture when I was
the age of most of you politicians were
gray middle-aged Men We generally knew
nothing about their private lives but of
course some of them were gay some
perhaps more than some were unfaithful
to their wives or
husbands take Jeremy Thorp leader of the
Liberal Party ostensibly a married
heterosexual he was not in fact but to
confess his orientation would have
spelled the end of his career in trying
to suppress stories about his affair
with Norman Scott he ended up in court
in trial for conspir cons iracy to
murder nowadays he could have had a
successful career as a politician and
acknowledged his sexual
orientation we've heard about John
perfumo already this evening who had an
affair with Christine Keeler a much
younger woman and lied to the House of
Commons about it bringing his career to
an end there might be have been some
justification for exposing on the basis
that he shared his affections for
Christine Keeler with a attache from the
Russian Embassy who about whom there was
some doubts as to his uh his spying
activities uh but in fact otherwise I'm
not convinced that the affair would have
Justified any intrusion into his private
life he he had not lied to the House of
Commons which he wouldn't probably have
done now many MPS nowadays in senior
positions are openly gay so what but
suppose they did not want to acknowledge
their orientation should we be entitled
to know I don't think so nor to
judge a free press is a fundamental part
of a healthy democracy journalists hold
politicians to account and if relevant
may be justified in referring to their
private lives but if relevant and not
always the difficulty is of course in
Drawing the Line
historically we had no law of privacy in
this country it was to amorphous a
concept we had the right to preserve our
bodily Integrity if somebody assaulted
you in any way you could sue them they
could be prosecuted your home as an
Englishman was your Castle you may
remember from childhood trespassers will
be prosecuted an inaccurate statement of
the law but still embodied a principle
with which we all familiar your
reputation was protected theoretically
by the law of defamation if you could
afford to sue anybody but the law has
now moved in the direction of
recognizing the right to privacy partly
as a result of case law from the
European Court of human rights in
Strasburg I am the chairman of the
independent press standards
organization which is a body which uh
reports to regulate the Press if you
want to make a complaint against the
Press you can do so most of the
complaints are about inaccuracy but we
do have a provision in relation to
privacy it says this everyone is
entitled to respect for their private
and family life home physical and mental
health and
correspondence correspondence rather
old-fashioned concept nowadays including
digital
Communications editors will be expected
to justify
intrusions into an individual's private
life but in considering an individual's
reasonable expectation of privacy
account will be taken of the
complainants own public disclosures of
information and the extent to which the
material complained about is already in
the public domain or will become so I
think that's a pretty fair summary of
the proper approach to the law of
privacy now politicians aren't the only
people of course uh whom we're
interested in Captains of Industry as
they used quaintly to be known members
of the Royal Family
film stars musicians Sportsmen
influencers Tik Tok Stars people who
appear on reality television uh and the
like all are entitled to privacy but as
is reflected in that cause disclosures
are relevant celebrities use the press
and can't complain if the Press comments
on matters which might otherwise be
considered off
limits but at the heart of this debate
lies a tension between what the public
are or might be interested in and make
judgments about so we told that's one
view of public interest and what is
properly to be regarded as a matter of
public interest our Natural Curiosity
should give way to the rights of
individuals to their privacy this motion
would deny them this basic human right
the the protection of such a right is
genuinely in the public interest thank
[Applause]
you
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