Celebrity privacy refers to the right of
celebrities
Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...
and public figures, largely entertainers, athletes or politicians, to withhold the information they are unwilling to disclose. This term often pertains explicitly to
personal information
Personal data, also known as personal information or personally identifiable information (PII), is any information related to an identifiable person.
The abbreviation PII is widely accepted in the United States, but the phrase it abbreviates ha ...
, which includes addresses and family members, among other data for personal identification. Different from the
privacy
Privacy (, ) is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively.
The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security, which can include the concepts of a ...
of the
general public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
, 'Celebrity Privacy' is considered as "controlled publicity," challenged by the press and the fans.
In addition, Paparazzi make
commercial use of their private data.
Some national and state governments set up
privacy law
Privacy law is the body of law that deals with the regulating, storing, and using of personally identifiable information, personal healthcare information, and financial information of individuals, which can be Personally identifiable information ...
s mainly to protect celebrity privacy and their family members.
The legal impact of these celebrity privacy laws has currently been undetermined since the curb for celebrity privacy intrusion often counteracts the legal principle of "
free press" in many countries.
Debate Surrounding the Celebrity Privacy
Scholars have debated how much or what type of privacy celebrities and their friends or family can or should expect.
Commonly posed arguments center upon topics such as the idea of celebrity privacy as controlled publicity, the intrusion of paparazzi or fans, and what types of privacy should be granted to and expected by children of celebrities.
Celebrity privacy as a controlled publicity
Celebrities are often controlled by the public exposure they receive and the need to maintain positive professional images. This invasion of privacy causes their private lives to be governed by the public.
Jamie Nordhaus says, "The boundaries of privacy and publicity for celebrities can become blurred, as they most are always watched by fans, paparazzi, and other potential stalkers."
It has been suggested that celebrities "remain conscious of maintaining a public persona when they are in the public eye as opposed to a personal one in private" and "negotiate with the press to release staged private life photos."
Jens Heffman argues that 'Celebrity attempts to sacrifice their privacy for publicity may result in a loss of legal protections, as celebrities claiming that an invasion of privacy by the press could be seen as using media to achieve or maintain fame.'
The latter argument was used in a court decision on a stolen sex tape that featured American actress
Pamela Anderson
Pamela Denise Anderson (born July 1, 1967) is a Canadian-American actress and model. She is best known for her glamour modeling work in ''Playboy'' magazine and for her appearances on the television series ''Baywatch'' (1992–1997).
Anders ...
Lee and her then-boyfriend
Bret Michaels
Bret Michael Sychak (born March 15, 1963), known professionally as Bret Michaels, is an American singer and musician. He gained fame as the frontman of rock band Poison who has sold over 50 million albums worldwide and 15 million records in the U ...
.
Lee has sued
Internet Entertainment Group
Seth Warshavsky (born 1973) is an American pornographer and the founder of Internet Entertainment Group (IEG). During the dot-com bubble, Warshavsky's welcome of media attention made him the face of the online pornography industry to a public fasc ...
(IEG) and
Paramount
Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to:
Entertainment and music companies
* Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
for broadcasting a story in 1998 that contained excerpts from the tape; however, the court considered her voluntarily sacrificing her privacy in hopes of publicizing herself.
Scholar Seong Hong has stated Lee's privacy right was not protected because of her celebrity identity.
Intrusion by paparazzi and fans
Paparazzi
![PRINCESS DIANA longing © copyright 2010 (5113084540)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/PRINCESS_DIANA_longing_%C2%A9_copyright_2010_%285113084540%29.jpg)
Celebrities' pictures are taken and sold to the press for financial purposes by
freelance photographer
A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs.
Duties and types of photographers
As in other ...
s known by the term "
paparazzi
Paparazzi (, ; ; singular: masculine paparazzo or feminine paparazza) are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile people; such as actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, and other celebrities, typically while subjects ...
."
Some techniques which the term paparazzi use include
stalking
Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The ter ...
,
which could cause turbulence to the lives of celebrities if approached aggressively. The method of
stalking
Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The ter ...
is harmful according to past events, as it has led to injury or death of the star.
The
death of Diana, Princess of Wales
In the early hours of 31 August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales died from injuries sustained earlier that day in a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris, France. Dodi Fayed, Diana's partner, and Henri Paul, their chauffeur, were found d ...
, has been cited as an example of the risks of paparazzi techniques.
On the other hand, scholar Elizabeth Hindman claims that the sale of exaggerated content without context to sensationalize particular moments has decreased credibility in the news industry.
Ray Murray argues that "some paparazzi will draw an ethical line" by following specific rules. In a series of paparazzi interviews, most participants claimed they would not break the law. Some attested that they would not take any photo of celebrity children without consent."
Scholar Andrew Mendelson has argued that "Paparazzi are valuable in that they reveal potential mismatches between the public image and the reality of celebrities who possess great power in contemporary society, which legitimizes the paparazzi's invasion of celebrity privacy as a form of
watchdog journalism."
Anne Jerslev and Mette Mendelson have noted that the paparazzi have become integrated into mainstream culture, and their photographs are distributed widely and quickly by consumers.
Fans
Scholar Kinta Hung suggests that the "dual entertainment path model" shows that
fans
Fan commonly refers to:
* Fan (machine), a machine for producing airflow, often used for cooling
** Hand fan, an implement held and waved by hand to move air for cooling
* Fan (person), short for fanatic; an enthusiast or supporter, especially wit ...
and non-fans use different ways to engage with their favourite celebrities.
As for those who are not fans, they pay attention to celebrities and the released news to escape from boredom. For fans, they put a much higher emotional investment into creating an individual "bond" with stars, which gives them pleasure and a sense of satisfaction.
Fans try to become physically and mentally closer to their idols by attending concerts, movies, and fan meetings. The term
stalking
Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The ter ...
also exists with fans, as in extreme circumstances, fans may be obsessed with their celebrities and invade the celebrities' privacy.
Scholar Jens Hoffman has argued that this results from a pathological fixation. Fans exhibiting this can believe there is a special connection between their favourite celebrities and themselves, even though such a relationship does not exist.
Once unsatisfied, this fixation can lead fans to invade celebrity privacy out of disappointment and resentment.
These extreme fans are known as "
Sasaeng fan
In South Korean culture, a sasaeng, or sasaeng fan (; ), is an obsessive fan who stalks or engages in other behavior constituting an invasion of the privacy of Korean idols, drama actors or other public figures. The term ''sasaeng'' comes from t ...
," which means "private life fan" in English according to South Korean Culture.
According to a study by William Patrick and Samantha Xiang, Sasaeng fans are typically teenage girls between 13–22 years old. Their common stalking behaviours include installing
hidden camera
A hidden camera or spy camera is a camera used to photograph or record subjects, often people, without their knowledge. The camera may be considered "hidden" because it is not visible to the subject being filmed, or is disguised as another obje ...
s in idols' homes, chasing idols' cars at high speed, and stealing personal things from idols' rooms.
Some actions done by sasaeng fans, such as poisoning members of a disliked K-POP idols or using bodily fluids to write letters to the object of their affection, are not advocated in South Korea.
Celebrity children
Celebrities' private lives have been a primary interest of the public; this prompted
paparazzi
Paparazzi (, ; ; singular: masculine paparazzo or feminine paparazza) are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile people; such as actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, and other celebrities, typically while subjects ...
to catch specific and trivial details of celebrities' daily lives, not excluding their children.
Often fame and private lifestyles of celebrities are posted by the paparazzi. These images can be either authorized or unauthorized.
Seong Hong claims that due to celebrity children's photos circulation, the media leads the public to establish a pseudo-relationship with them and imagine them as "our children."
This public imagination, combined with the potentially constant presence of paparazzi, has been seen as having the potential to threaten the privacy of celebrity children.
Effects
Lidia Maropo and
Ana Jorge argue that celebrity children usually appear in newspapers and magazines with their families. Moments like celebrity children playing in the park or having a picnic with the whole family are posted on media, reflecting the importance of children in the family and advocating for a more harmonious family relationship.
Celebrity children's photos can also suggest a pleasant experience and a sense of satisfaction with being a parent.
The circulation of celebrity children's images attracts the public to focus on
Family Relationship
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...
s. It highlights the happiness brought by children and the responsibility of parents.
The exposure of celebrity children to the public can result in the invasion of their
Privacy
Privacy (, ) is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively.
The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security, which can include the concepts of a ...
rights. For example, the 20-month-old son of
aviator Charles A. Lindbergh, who became a national celebrity after he created records for flying from the U.S. to France in 1927, was kidnapped and murdered in 1932. After this tragedy, Jon, Lindbergh's second son, was chased continuously by the paparazzi's cars. Lindbergh decided not to raise legal appeals but to move outside of the U.S. with his family to protect Jon.
Additionally, some celebrities send photos of their children to the media to prevent paparazzi from continuing to disrupt their private lives: American film celebrities
David Arquette
David Arquette (born September 8, 1971) is an American actor and former professional wrestler. He is best known for his role as Dewey Riley in the slasher film franchise ''Scream'', for which he won a Teen Choice Award and two Blockbuster Enter ...
and
Courteney Cox
Courteney Bass Cox (previously Courteney Cox Arquette; born June 15, 1964) is an American actress and filmmaker. She gained international recognition for her starring role as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom '' Friends'', which aired from 1994 ...
released the image of their daughter
Coco to the press, to prevent themselves from being chased by paparazzi.
Legal protection regarding children privacy
The United Nations
The United Nations Convention on the
Rights of the Child
Children's rights are a subset of human rights with particular attention to the rights of special protection and care afforded to minors. (UNCRC) was permitted in 1989 as human rights started to gain more attention globally.
This treaty deals with the most fundamental issue between children and the media, such as
free expression
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
, non-discrimination and respect. Article 16, in particular, set that children have the right to protect themselves when encountering illegal interference of privacy or attacks on reputation.
All the
UN countries, except the U.S. and
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
, approved and sighed this treaty.
United States
Seong Hong argues that in the United States, celebrity children's privacy is rarely protected by U.S. law.
The legal protection of celebrity children is too narrow, which might counteract the
First Amendment
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
, which emphasizes the "free press" to encourage democratic voices.
However, as the California Anti-Paparazzi Act was introduced, some celebrities suggested the
state government
A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...
should focus more on celebrity children. Actress
Halle Berry
Halle Maria Berry (; born Maria Halle Berry; August 14, 1966) is an American actress. She began her career as a model and entered several beauty contests, finishing as the first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant and coming in sixth in the Mis ...
hoped the law could restrict paparazzi from approaching celebrity children, including its effects on her children.
Scholar Joshua Azriel suggests that there should be a total ban on the photos of celebrity children with more substantial punishment.
Brazil
In Brazil, the Child and Adolescent Statute (ECA in the Portuguese acronym) directly and indirectly addressed the relationship between children and media.
ECA grants children fundamental civil and human rights, including free expression and the right to image, ideas, identity, etc. Article 18, in particular, emphasizes that everyone has the responsibility to protect children's dignity and save them from any violent or terrifying situation.
Besides, Article 74–80 covers children from harmful public media, such as violent television shows.
Portugal
In
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, the Law for Protection of Children and Youth at Risk (LPCJP in the Portuguese acronym) protects children from media that bring risky elements, such as violence or inhumanity. Besides, The Young Offenders’ Law prohibits media from identifying youngsters from 12–16 who commit illegal actions.
Global Celebrity Privacy Laws
United States
California "Anti-Paparazzi" Law
In August 1997,
Princess Diana
Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...
died in a car accident in France which was suspected to be caused by seven paparazzi. Although the judge clarified later that the drunk driver rather than the paparazzi caused the accident, the
California government
The government of California is the governmental structure of the U.S. state of California as established by the California Constitution. California uses the separation of powers system to structure its government. It is composed of three branche ...
was aware of the danger brought by paparazzi and thus quickly set the first anti-paparazzi law.
In 1998, California set the "invasion of privacy statute," which prohibited using digital devices to take photos of celebrities on private occasions. However, this statute is criticized by opponents who believe it might inhibit the freedom of the press to gather news. Also, the language used needed to be more broad and specific. Some media attorneys described the statute as a "
Pandora's box
Pandora's box is an artifact in Greek mythology connected with the myth of Pandora in Hesiod's c. 700 B.C. poem ''Works and Days''. Hesiod reported that curiosity led her to open a container left in the care of her husband, thus releasing phys ...
" that brought a large number of severe problems.
The First Amendment of the "invasion of privacy statute" was passed in 2005, which regulated the profits from photos taken during altercations between celebrities and photographers will be forfeited. The fine was imposed in 2005 by the California legislature on making a profit from any picture in which paparazzi assaulted a celebrity and expanding the 1708.8 civil code.
In 2009, another new law A.B 524, stated that California would charge up to $50,000 penalties from the first publishers of the photos taken in ways that violate the privacy statute. This law aimed to stop the paparazzi who take private photos of celebrities for profit-gaining reasons. However, scholars Christina Locke and Kara Murrhee claim that the law is ineffective because the first publishers of celebrity photos can usually make over a million dollars. Furthermore, A.B 524 seemly contradicts the
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
again for prohibiting the press from gaining news legally.
Due to confrontations between celebrities and paparazzi still occurring and even worsening, in January 2010, another anti-paparazzi law, A.B 2479, was passed. It was to address two main problems: the paparazzi’s car-chasing, which often leads to accidents and their behaviours that prevent the celebrities from moving freely. A.B 2479 further established financial and criminal penalties for people who result in reckless driving because of the intention to gain photos or recordings of other people for commercial purposes. The fine will be between $145 to $1,000, and the term of imprisonment will be between 5–90 days.
If any child is inside the car during
reckless driving
In United States law, reckless driving is a major moving traffic violation that generally consists in driving a vehicle with willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property. It is usually a more serious offense than careless ...
, the fine will be up to $5,000, and the term of
imprisonment
Imprisonment is the restraint of a person's liberty, for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is "false imprisonment". Imprisonment does not necessari ...
will be up to one year. Also, to curb the paparazzi from encompassing the celebrities and thus prevent them from moving freely, the law counts this behaviour as false imprisonment that allows for extra damages.
In 2015, the state appealed the superior court of Los Angeles to arrest the paparazzi for breaking California vehicle code section 40008 in which paparazzi endangered the motorist and chased the celebrity in high-speed car to take a picture.
= Debate
=
The supporters of A.B 2479 were
The City of Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
the Screen Actors Guild and the Paparazzi Reform Initiative. Aggressive behaviours of paparazzi, such as parking their cars to block the celebrities' cars or crowding the stars in public spaces, have seriously disrupted celebrities' private lives. On the other hand,
California Newspaper Publishers Association
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
(CNPA) opposed the bill since it undermines the activity of the press to gather news freely. Also, CNPA argued that the penalties for reckless driving targeted at journalists are unfair. Christina Locke and Kara Murrhee state that A.B. 2479 has made significant changes regarding focus. However, the conflict between the California anti-paparazzi law and the Constitution's First Amendment still exists.
"Anti-Paparazzi law" vs. The First Amendment
Keith Willis claims that in the U.S legal system, the conflict between the right to privacy and the right to free expression exists.
Many state bills, such as California's anti-paparazzi law, are set to protect celebrity privacy, while the
First Amendment
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
of Constitution ensures the press's freedom to express and gather information.
In history, the balance of these two forces has been uncertain—sometimes the celebrities’ privacy requests outweigh the freedoms of press and expression, while other times the First Amendment is prioritized over celebrities who claim to be disrupted by the open press.
United Kingdom
Britain set laws to restrict press reporting earlier than many other countries to prevent the royal family from being disrupted by the media.
Also, institutions like
the European Convention on Human Rights and the British Law Commission have been submitting proposals to protect individual privacy.
After the death of
Princess Diana
Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...
in 1997, the
Press Complaints Commission
The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) was a voluntary regulatory body for British printed newspapers and magazines, consisting of representatives of the major publishers. The PCC closed on Monday 8 September 2014, and was replaced by the Indep ...
, a self-regulating organization of British media, proposed a series of regulations to prevent similar accidents.
The proposals include banning paparazzi photos taken through continuous pursuit, expanding the definition of private property, strengthening the protection for celebrity children, and preventing media collective harassment.
France
According to Jamie Nordhaus, Although the
French government
The Government of France ( French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who ...
set strong laws to prevent paparazzi from invading celebrity privacy, these laws counteract each other. They, thus, are not efficient enough to protect celebrities and their children.
The government prohibits paparazzi from publishing any photo that is not consented to by the subjects but allows them to post pictures in public places.
According to the
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
, "France has such strict press privacy laws that editors usually print a black band across the faces of subjects who have not given permission for their pictures to be published." Besides, the high profits resulting from publishing exclusive celebrity photos in France significantly exceed the $32,000 fine, which encourages French paparazzi to take risks.
New Zealand
Like the U.S., Seong Hung claims privacy laws rarely protect celebrities and their children in New Zealand.
In 2004, Mr. Hosking, a well-known television celebrity in New Zealand, sued
Pacific Magazine
''Pacific Magazine'' was a regional news and current affairs magazine and online news agency specializing in the coverage of the Pacific Islands region, including Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. The magazine was headquartered and published ...
for taking and publishing the photos of his children. Still, the Court of Appeal ruled against Mr. Hosking by stating that the photographs did not invade his privacy right because they were taken in public spaces
Spain
The threat to private life due to expansion in technology and photography was noted in 1890 by Warren and Brandies, lawyers from Boston.
After more than one century, the ways of finding information about someone's private life have increased, easily violating the right to privacy. The
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
has imposed legal regulations considering the right to privacy for revealing someone's personal information to others, spreading through social media, allowing others to have access to someone's details and allowing others to distribute and expose the data.
In Article 198 of the
Spanish penal code
The Criminal Code is a law that codifies most criminal offences in Spain. The Code is established by an organic law, the Organic Law 10/1995, of 23 November, of the Criminal Code (''Ley Orgánica 10/1995, de 23 de noviembre, del Código Penal' ...
, the civil government has analyzed the new code to the right to punishable privacy offences: taking someone's paper, letters, electronic messages, and belongings or intercepting communication in someone's personal space and exposing or spreading obtained information.
The punishment for these offences will be greater if the person is an authority and civil servant.
Other laws regarding celebrity privacy
Right of publicity
United States
The
right of publicity
Personality rights, sometimes referred to as the right of publicity, are rights for an individual to control the commercial use of their identity, such as name, image, likeness, or other unequivocal identifiers. They are generally considered as ...
, also called personality rights, aims to control and protect the unauthorized commercial use of people's identities, such as names, photos, or likenesses.
Based on the right to privacy, the right of publicity is relatively new in the U.S. and was first recognized in the 1953 ''Haelan Laboratories v. Topps Chewing Gum'' case. Supreme Court later analyzed it in the 1977
''Zacchini v. Scripps-Howard Broadcasting Co. case''.
The right to publicity is significant due to the trend of "everyone can be famous on the Internet for 15 minutes"; the right to publicity becomes increasingly relevant and vital protection.
This right is closely related to celebrity privacy because it protects celebrities from paparazzi or individuals who take their names and images for commercial use. Currently, no
federal law
Federal law is the body of law created by the federal government of a country. A federal government is formed when a group of political units, such as states or provinces join in a federation, delegating their individual sovereignty and many po ...
in the U.S. protects celebrities' right to publicity. However, states like California have established
statute
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...
s and
common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...
to protect celebrity citizens.
Keith Willis argues that publicity rights controversies often happen on celebrity product endorsement issues.
Canada
According to Ellen Whitehorn, the
Canadian government
The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-in-C ...
protects the right to publicity. However, the extent of the scope is still uncertain. The Courts protect individuals’ gain from self-marketing, including name, images and personality, when violated.
Similar to the U.S., the right of publicity laws mainly concentrate on different provinces. For example,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
has specific common laws which prevent personality rights from being violated commercially.
However, while the right to publicity in the U.S. originates from the right to privacy, the personality right in Canada stems from
the Unfair competition law.
United Kingdom
Ellen Whitehorn claims that The United Kingdom currently does not have a specific legal statute to protect the right of publicity because, in history, U.K has been inclined to offer more protection for free speech and thus less focus on celebrity and their publicity rights.
However, the U.K government still protects the right of publicity through other torts, such as some claims in the British Human Rights Act,
violation of copyright, or
misuse of private information
Misuse of private information is a new common law tort that English courts recognised in ''Campbell v MGN Ltd''. Arising as a branch of the law relating to breach of confidence, it has been reinforced by Article 8 of the European Convention on Huma ...
.
Copyright
Copyright
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...
is also closely related to celebrity privacy. In the U.S., Congress enacts copyright law based on Article 1(8)8 of the Constitution, which suggests that authors have the exclusive right to their work for a limited period.
The original work protected by copyright laws includes literary, artistic, musical, dramatic, etc.
Since the producers of the original work are artists, musicians, or well-known authors, they are likely to be involved in copyright lawsuits. This could affect their privacy rights. Scholar O'Neill Eaton suggests that sometimes the press fights for the copyright of paparazzi photos to make most of the profits from exclusive celebrity images. In 2006, the famous U.S. celebrity gossip blogger
Perez Hilton
Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr. (born March 23, 1978), known professionally as Perez Hilton, is an American blogger, columnist, and media personality. His blog is known for posts covering gossip items about celebrities, and for posting tabloid p ...
was sued by paparazzi agency X17 because he posted photos taken by X17 onto his website without permission.
Perez has denied violating copyright laws, stating that his work falls under
fair use
Fair use is a doctrine in United States law that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder. Fair use is one of the limitations to copyright intended to balance the interests ...
, as he uses the material for humour and satire. The Court's final decision was that Perez's use of the paparazzi photos violated copyright laws, as Perez gained huge profits from publishing the paparazzi photos.
See also
*
Celebrity culture
Celebrity culture is a high-volume exposure to celebrities' personal lives on a global scale. It is inherently tied to consumer interests where celebrities transform their fame to become product brands.
Whereas a culture can usually be physically ...
*
Celebrity photography
Celebrity photography is a subset of photojournalism where the subjects are celebrities in the arts, sports and sometimes politics. There are three main types of celebrity photographs used by magazines and newspapers: event photography, celebrity p ...
*
Death of Diana, Princess of Wales
In the early hours of 31 August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales died from injuries sustained earlier that day in a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris, France. Dodi Fayed, Diana's partner, and Henri Paul, their chauffeur, were found d ...
*
Celebrity sex tape
A celebrity sex tape is typically an amateur pornographic video recording involving one or more famous people which has, intentionally or unintentionally, been made available publicly. Such videos have often been released without the consent of t ...
*
Internet privacy
Internet privacy involves the right or mandate of personal privacy concerning the storing, re-purposing, provision to third parties, and displaying of information pertaining to oneself via Internet. Internet privacy is a subset of data privacy. Pr ...
References
{{Reflist