Court cases involving privacy 'double in five years'

The number of court cases featuring arguments over privacy is rising, research suggests.

Research by specialist information supplier Thomson Reuters legal business says the number of reported cases involving privacy has more than doubled - from 28 to 58 - over the past five years.

Thomson Reuters says about one in five of those cases have involved celebrities and politicians.

Researchers say cases can involve people in the public eye who want to restrict the publication of stories or photographs and disputes over who has access to personal information handled by public sector organisations.

"The number of reported court cases involving privacy arguments has reached a new high," said a Thomson Reuters spokesman.

"Approximately a fifth of reported cases using privacy arguments in the last year involved celebrities and politicians."

He added: "Another key issue in many privacy cases is the extent to which individuals have a right to determine what happens to information after they have provided it to a company or a public sector body."

Researchers had analysed cases using specialist legal websites, he said.