The Conflict And Balance Of The Protection Of Public Figures' Right Of Privacy And The Freedom Of Median

Public figures benefit a lot from their popularity; meanwhile they also suffer from several troubles resulting from reports of media, especially from tabloid. In 2008"photos scandal"event happened in Hongkong, which shocked the people from Hongkong, Taiwan and Mainland China. This event has taught the people, even the common people a lesson of protecting their own privacy. With transformation of the society, people's ideology also changes gradually. Therefore, people are aware of making use of law to protect their own rights. The great progress of technology and acceleration of information transmission make individuals'personal space smaller and smaller. As a result, the conflict between the privacy and the freedom of median is becoming increasingly acute.Prior to promulgation of"Tort Act of China"at the end of 2009, there are no statutes, which see the right of privacy as a independent right of personality. The Supreme Court of China has worked out two pieces of judicial interpretation, which set up a basis for the court to deal with the relevant cases, namely all the cases concerning the right of privacy shall be classified as cases of right of reputation. Although this method provides a way to solve the aforesaid problem, but it still has a lot of problems. The promulgation of the Tort Act of China acknowledges the right of privacy as a independent right of personality; however, this is far away from resolving the conflict between the interest of privacy and the freedom of median, especially public figures'privacy.In this essay, several defects laid in the legislation and jurisdiction of China is firstly pointed out. Secondly, this essay introduces how the German solve this conflict based on their legislation and the wisdom of their judgers, especially the different standards adopted by the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany and European Commission of Human Rights in the Caroline from Hannover against Germany. What's more, by comparing the different social basis of privacy protection and the freedom of median of China and the one of Germany, the author finds the reason of their legislation and jurisdiction. Considering the specific situation China faces and based on the above analysis, the author makes some pieces of proposal for balancing the conflicting interests of public figures'right of privacy and the freedom of median.