1. Recent intrusions into the lives of public figures have highlighted the lack of laws guarding privacy in Britain'. As a result, one issue under discussion as Parliament returns this week is the possible introduction of legislation to curb¹ press powers.

1．最近在英国，侵犯公众人物私生活的事件突出了缺乏保护隐私权的法律的问题。其结果：一个讨论之下的解决办法，是让这周返回工作的议会提出可能的立法议案去限制媒体的权力。

2. The Government will probably take no action until it receives a report from a committee chaired by Sir David Calcutt, due in January 1993. The committee is examining whether the press should be regulated by tougher legislation. It is also considering the ways in which the press has invaded the private lives of the famous.

2．预计在1993年1月收到以DAVID CALCUTT先生为主席的委员会的报告之前政府不会采取任何行动。该委员会正在审查是否应该用严厉的法律去约束媒体。同时它也在调查媒体采用何种方式侵犯名人私生活。

3. The Calcutt committee has reported once before, in 1990. Its recommendations led to the creation of the Press Complaints Commission, under which the press was given the chance to regulate itself without the need for a privacy law. It also proposed a new criminal offence of physical intrusion to obtain information for publication.

3．1990年，CALCUTT先生的委员会曾经提出过一次报告。在该报告倡议下成立了媒体申诉委员会。媒体通过该委员会进行自我约束而不受隐私权法律的限制。报告同时还提出了一种新的犯罪，即为了获取公众信息而进行 人身的侵犯。

4. This proposal, which was not acted upon, would have made it unlawful to photograph people on private property or record their conversations without permission. It would have made it an offence to enter a property to place a bug² or obtain personal information.

4．这个尚未生效的法案，将使“在私有财产内对人拍照”或“不受他人允许对他的谈话录音”成为非法。法案还使闯入私有财产去设置窃听器或获取他人私人信息定为犯罪。

5. The committee said that the press should be allowed to invade the privacy of a public figure only when it was likely to expose or prevent criminal activity, otherwise his or her private life should be left alone. But a general law protecting privacy was rejected.

5．委员会解释道，只有当媒体能揭露或制止可能的犯罪活动时，才允许侵犯名人的隐私，否则无权干涉他或她的私生活。但是保护隐私的普通条款被否决了。

6. Since then, reports in some newspapers and magazines about people's private lives have ignored the committee's recommendations. The private lives of Government ministers and members of the Royal Family have featured prominently in the press. Photographs of the Duchess of York Sunbathing³ in France, for example, have been widely published.

6．此后，若干报纸和刊物不顾委员会的建议报道了一些名人的私生活。 政府要员和皇室成员的私生活已经成为媒体的报道焦点。例如，约克女公爵在法国日光浴的照片曾经被广泛刊登。

7. Some sections of the media justify⁴ their intrusion by saying it is in the public interest. In a democracy, they argue, the public has a right to know what people in positions of power are doing. Politicians and others are accountable for their lives. Privacy laws, these critics say, would protect the privileged.

7．媒体的某些部门以公共利益为借口辩解说他们的“私闯”是正当的。他们争辩道在一个民主社会里，公众有权力知道那些在当权者在做什么。政治家们和某些人们要对自己的所作所为负责任。他们批评说隐私权法律保护 了特权。

8. Additionally, many politicians use their private lives to gain popular support, for example by parading their families before cameras to emphasize "traditional values". Hence, some editors say they are justified⁵ in prying⁶ into private lives to uncover any faults.

8．此外，很多政治家利用他们的私生活去提高知名度。例如，在照相机 向公众展示他们的家庭以强调“传统价值”。因此，一些记者说他们窥视名人隐私以揭示他们的错误是合理的。

9. Likewise, the Royal Family is supported from public funds, and therefore it is argued that its members should lead responsible private lives.

9．另外，公共基金负责皇室的生活，因此某种争论说，皇室成员的私生活应当成为公众的楷模。

10. Critics of media intrusion say it is hurtful to the individuals involved and ignores their basic rights to freedom and privacy. They say intrusion serves purely⁷ to increase newspaper sales.

10．批评者说媒体入侵是对相关人的伤害和对他们在自由和隐私方面权力的忽视。他们说，侵犯隐私的目的只是为了增加报纸的销量。

11. As well as the debate on privacy and the press, there is another issue that civil-liberty groups think is a greater threat to people's freedom. It is the protection of ordinary members of the public from intrusion, particularly by the state and by business.

11．在媒体权力与名人私生活的辩论中，人权自由组织认为还有—个对人民自由的巨大威胁，即保护普通大众免受侵犯，尤其是政府和商业组织的侵犯。