Campbell v MGN- a 'landmark' in privacy?

Hopton-Jones, Danielle (2025) Campbell v MGN- a 'landmark' in privacy? In: The 6th Annual Diversity, Dilemmas and Discoveries Conference, 21 November 2025, The Open University. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

This paper will focus on the “momentous decision” (Wragg, 2015) of Campbell v Mirror Group Newspapers Ltd [2004], analysing its effect on the application of Article 8 ECHR. The supermodel Naomi Campbell was decided to have had a reasonable expectation of privacy (REOP) regarding covertly obtained photographs and details of her drug addiction treatment. The case’s status as a landmark decision will be assessed, offering a fresh perspective by considering how far it has caused a rupture in the law of privacy and in the practice of the press. The legal landscape surrounding privacy will be briefly considered to introduce the landscape of harms leading to Campbell.
This paper will reflect on Campbell’s formulation of REOP using later high-profile case law, such as Richard v BBC and AAA v Associated Newspapers. It was noted in Campbell that celebrities may have a reduced expectation of privacy based on their previous interactions with the press; notably, over a decade later in Richard, the court did not consider the claimant’s REOP regarding a police investigation to be diminished by his celebrity status.
This paper will consider the dilemma of balancing media freedom with protecting people from harmful press intrusion into their private lives. It is submitted that press intrusion is still a significant issue (see projects such as Hacked Off and cases such as the Duke of Sussex’s litigation against Associated Newspapers); this paper will conclude by reflecting on whether Campbell’s status as a landmark decision is reflected in the reality of press practice, and to what extent a rupture has been caused within the press. It will be argued that Campbell was more significant for the legal formulation of privacy than the social reality, however its status as a landmark case is valid due to its effect on the former.

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