The Media and Privacy Rights
Legal Implications of the Expansion of a Free Press
The law first began recognizing a distinct cause of action for invasion of privacy by the media about a century ago. The initial impetus came from one of the most famous of all law review articles, "The Right of Privacy," by Louis D. Brandeis and his law partner Samuel Warren, published in the Harvard Law Review in 1890. Journalism for the masses was just beginning to flourish, and conflicted sharply with Victorian notions of propriety, modesty, and morality. Brandeis and Warren were appalled by practices of the Boston newspapers, including coverage of a family gathering that the Warrens considered private….
