A French Court on Tuesday held that the French tabloid magazine Closer was at fault for publishing the private photos of Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge and wife of Prince William, and ordered the Closer’s publisher to cease all publication, dissemination and sales of the photo, and to give all digital reproductions of the images to the Royal Family.
Much like shutting the stable doors after the horse has already fled, these private photos now barrage gossip pages worldwide. They are available to virtually anyone with Internet access. On the coattails of Rupert Murdoch’s hacking scandal in the British newspapers, the British media has demonstrated remarkable restraint in not publishing any indecent pictures of the Kate Middleton, but that has not stopped other tabloid papers such as Chi, Irish Daily Star, and Se & Hoer from publishing the photos. These tabloid magazines, based in Italy, Ireland, and Denmark, respectively, provide insight to the differing privacy laws in Europe.
The French law is highly protective of privacy to the extent that it treats certain invasions of private life as criminal matters. In France, people have the right to lead a private life, and photographic images fall under that protection. As such, the Royal Family filed both a civil complaint and a criminal suit against Closer. It is now up to the French prosecutors to investigate the identity of the photographer who could potentially face jail time.
In other countries, including the United States, it is not possible to file a criminal suit for a breach of privacy. If the Royal Family does decide file a lawsuit against the other magazines that have run Middleton’s picture, it is unclear what the result of those proceeding would be. However, these photos have acted as a catalyst for some countries to update their privacy laws. New laws are now being established in Ireland, which will redefine what it means for the media to invade personal privacy. Chi, as it is a wholly owned subsidiary of the same parent company as that of the Closer, might also face repercussions. As the world constantly updates, so must the law.