Celebrities’ families and privacy: the need for enhanced self-regulatory protection

The role of journalism has altered in recent decades. The Cairncross Review highlighted how reader demand has changed the types of news stories that people are interested in reading, alongside how they read them. Indeed, celebrity stories are still found to be particularly popular. The reporting of celebrity stories can have negative impacts, not only on celebrities, but on their families. The Leveson Inquiry highlighted how harrowing these impacts can be. Following the conclusion of the Inquiry, the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) was formed and the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) disbanded. However, despite IPSO’s regulation, this article concludes that invasions of celebrities’ families’ private lives are still taking place following recent complaints by celebrities on behalf of their families. As a consequence of this, there are concerns that such invasions are still occurring as IPSO is perceived as an ineffective regulator. This argument shall be considered within this article before offering recommendations as to how IPSO can better protect celebrities’ families’ privacy.