The Privacy Of Public Figures

The concept of "privacy" came out in China since 80's of the 20th century. The research about privacy of the public figure is still in its early period, and there is big gap versus its study in the developed countries. Therefore, China hasn't established sound regulation legislatively or judicially. In my view, a public figure is the one who is objectively well-known or concerned within one field or during sometime. They are socially well-known characters. Objective criteria should be used in definition of the scope for public figures, whether the public figures own willingness or seeking to become a public figure. According to the different sources, author in this paper classify it into Public Power Figures and Non-public Power Figures, and also introduce the concept and characteristics of privacy of the public figures. The principles to protect the public figures'privacy include the citizens'rational interests and the common benefit. The privacy law should vary for different kinds of public figures. For the sake of protecting the public figures'privacy, the nation should clarify the privacy concept legislatively, speed up the setup of news legislation and work out the protection for private data; introduce "real malice" in the judicatory and the limitations to Judges'discretion; strengthen criterion for medium and finally improve the society's legal consciousness and ethical standards.