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May 26, 2011

Now you see it…How the law has stopped the press reporting on private lives

Amid the furore this week over the naming off Ryan Giggs as the footballer at the centre of a Twitter privacy row – the UK law on privacy was said to be in a shambles.

As politicians, judges, and the tabloids fight it out over injunctions, regulation of the internet, privacy and the role of the Press Complaints Commission, Press Gazette looks back over the last decade at the development of the UK law of privacy.

Before the Human Rights Act came into force in 2000 the law of privacy hardly existed in the UK, although there was the more limited law of breach of confidence.

Via landmark legal rulings and settlements involving the likes of Amanda Holden, Niema Ash, numerous footballers and Max Mosley – journalists have found they can write less and less about the private lives of the rich and famous.

This interactive timeline details the major landmarks involving privacy and the press over the last decade as reported by Press Gazette.

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