The Only Way is Ethics: Rights to privacy and free expression will always be at loggerheads

Britain’s relationship with privacy is complicated. Our strongly ingrained attachment to the benefits of private property underpins the idea that personal privacy is about the existence of an almost physical sphere. It is one of the reasons that phone-hacking by journalists seemed such a shocking means of intrusion: it amounted to an almost visceral entry into the victims’ personal space.
On the other hand, the value we attach to privacy is entirely matched by our preoccupation with our right to free expression. The ability to set the world to rights is a defining British characteristic.
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