Europe, UK (Commonwealth Union) – In a recent development, Prince Harry’s legal battle against Rupert Murdoch’s media empire has encountered a significant setback. A court ruling has determined that the Duke of Sussex cannot proceed with taking allegations of privacy invasion and hacking to trial, to include Rupert Murdoch the former executive chairman of News Corp and Pierce Morgan who has been a major critic of both Prince Harry and Megan Markle.
The lawsuit, which accused the Murdoch-owned media outlets of hacking into Prince Harry’s private information and violating his privacy, had garnered widespread attention. The prince indicated that the media conglomerate was engaged in unlawful activities by its journalists and private investigators.
Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, which includes several major newspapers, has faced similar accusations in the past, most notably during the News of the World phone-hacking scandal in 2011. The scandal led to the closure of the newspaper, as well as numerous arrests and convictions of the staff involved in the illegal activities. However, none of the allegations directly implicated Rupert Murdoch or his senior executives in the wrong doings and Mr. Murdoch personally apologized to affected family of the phone hacking scandal.
According to reports Mr Justice Fancourt said “I also consider that there is a desire on the part of those running the litigation on the claimants’ side to shoot at ‘trophy’ targets, whether those are political issues or high-profile individuals. This cannot become an end in itself: it only matters to the court so far as it is material and proportionate to the resolution of the individual causes of action. The trial is not an inquiry.”
This decision will likely come as a major blow to the prince, who is suing the media outlets and hoped to name Rupert Murdoch and Pierce Morgan. This legal battle has underscored the ongoing struggle for privacy in the age where privacy is becoming a challenge with data mining and the changing dynamics of journalism. The spotlight has also been on how much privacy public officials should be getting in comparison to private individuals.
