On The Protection And Limitations Of Privacy Of Public Figures

Growing with the economic and social development, awareness of rights arouses. And privacy should be protected by law as one of the citizens’right to their personality. China’s current legal protection of privacy is too indirect for most are violations of the right of reputation, moral rights, which is difficult to achieve the greatest degree of protection of privacy in judicial practice. The concept of public figures has not been too clearly defined in legal system, resulting in too much uncertainty in judicial practice. Because daily activities of public figures are often associated with the public interest, to protect privacy of public figures is unique, more often, need to make restrictions. How to make reasonable restrictions on the privacy of public figures in order to meet the public interest, while at the same time, make a better protection on the privacy which has nothing to do with the public interest, requires further perfection of the legislation. And this is a worth-exploring problem in judicial practice.The first part of the paper introduces the case that England famous soccer star David Beckham and his wife, the world of public figures, accused " News of the World". And it proposes the same legal issues from the analysis of the substantive issues behind the case.The second part makes the specific and deep analysis of privacy and the privacy of public figures. This part starts with the concept of privacy, which is a developing concept. The concept of privacy originates from privacy-awareness. The legal sense of privacy concepts generated in recent centuries. Privacy, as a kind of moral rights, is course needs to be protected. Public figures as subjects of law, linked with the public interest and their privacy, and there are a lot of difference with ordinary people’s privacy. Public figures’ privacy has their own unique characteristics compared with that of ordinary people. This is the reason that a public figure’s privacy needs protection and also restriction at the same time.The third part focuses on analysis and discussion of the restrictions on the privacy of public figures. This paper analyzes the reasons of restriction on public figure privacy, and provides the principle to be followed of the restrictions. Restrictions on the privacy of public figures are dialectic as well as unite, as the two sides of an issue. The paper also briefly discusses and analyzes the restrictions on the media exposure of the privacy of public figure.The fourth part is to review this case, indicate the specific work to be done from the case, play an effective role in law practice and propose the suggestion of current legal situation. Than this paper is to make a brief analysis of the open system on officers’property, as public figure, and hopefully to be meaningful to the progress of the rule of law of our country and a clean government.