ABSTRACT
This article considers what the award of substantial damages for phone hacking in Gulati v MGN Ltd says about the nature of the English privacy action and where it might be heading. By accepting that the defendants were liable simply for listening to the claimants’ messages, the judge in that case moved the privacy tort beyond its traditional focus on the disclosure of private information. The article considers possible juridical bases for that extension arguing that, while breach of confidence principles can justify the move, the case also reflects a growing judicial willingness to protect physical privacy interests i.e. freedom from being watched, listened to, or physically encroached upon against one’s wishes.
