ABSTRACT
The invasion of privacy by the media has also become a matter of rising concern. In 1953, the Press Council was established.87 This self-regulatory body proved woefully inadequate at controlling the press, not least because it had no powers to fine newspapers. In 1972, the Younger Committee was established to consider reforms in relation to press freedom. The Committee recommended that a tort of disclosure of information unlawfully acquired and a tort and crime of unlawful surveillance by technical devices be introduced.88 The proposed reforms were not implemented. Concern over intrusions into individual privacy increased with the media attention given to the Royal Family in recent years. The case of Kaye v Robertson (1991) heightened public interest in the respective right of an individual to privacy and the right of the public to information. In Kaye, journalists entered a hospital room in which the well known actor, Gordon Kaye, was being treated for severe injuries sustained in a car accident. Kaye agreed neither to be photographed nor interviewed. An injunction was sought, and granted, to restrain the newspaper from publishing the ‘interview’ and photographs. On appeal, the Court of Appeal ruled that there was no right to privacy under English law which could found the basis for an injunction.
