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Toffoloni V. Lfp Publishing Group, 572 F.3d 1201 (2009)

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Submitted By fmesa
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Toffoloni v. LFP Publishing Group, 572 F.3d 1201 (2009) In today’s society, privacy laws have become of a great concern to the courts. Many legal claims are being filed by the people concerning privacy issues. Privacy laws are among the most difficult issues to handle in today’s mass communication. This issue can be traced back to Louis Brandeis and Samuel Warren, who wrote an article concerning the people’s right to privacy. Nowadays, no one can be too careful when it comes to privacy because any information that reaches the press can be used to their advantage. The press does not have the right to decide whether the information gathered or provided to them is newsworthy or not, this is for the Constitution to decide. An individual should have the right to be protected by the government when the media abuses their power. The people should have the right to do or say whatever they feel at the moment without having to worry about the media. According to Zelezny, “Privacy-related lawsuits against the media have continued to escalate in the new millennium. The media successfully defend against most of these lawsuits. Yet there are enough plaintiff victories to rouse more plaintiffs…” (178). The media constantly monitors the government, but the government does not monitor the media enough. This is the reason why the courts are bombarded constantly with law suits. Government has let the media abuse of its freedom and this is why privacy has become a great issue in society. The First Amendment protects the freedom of speech and press, but the government should not be negligent to overlook the way in which this freedom could affect a person and his family’s privacy. As shown in the past, the media only cares about the story, not necessarily about the people in it. For example, in the case of Time, Inc v. Hill, a family was kept hostage by three escaped convict and

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