Media regulation is partly about protecting individuals and groups from powerful organisations and the wealthy, but it is also about protecting democracy.

Are pile-ons by the media on individuals acceptable? It depends on the individual. If it’s a politician then probably yes, in that the politician has or is asking to have massive power and so a lot of scrutiny should come with that. Some argue the same for a celebrity, but in that case it is worth asking why someone who happens to be well known for pursuing their particular talents has to give up their privacy as a result. Celebrities by definition are individuals the public are interested in, but there is an important distinction between what people are interested in and what is called the public interest. People love gossip, but that does not mean that the individual the gossip is about loses their human rights. Human rights exist in part to protect individuals from the wishes of the masses. Consider now someone who is not a politician or celebrity, but who has a minor public presence. Imagine an academic, for example, that writes a blog and the occasional article for public…