Leveson inquiry: Murdoch editors warn of 'chilling effect' of state regulation [View all]

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The editors of the News International-owned Times and Sunday Times have told the Leveson inquiry they were implacably opposed to any form of statutory regulation of newspapers because of the "chilling effect" it may have on the press.

Six months after the phone-hacking scandal erupted, the editors of the now defunct News of the World's sister titles said they supported radical reform of press regulation but not through legislation.

Their evidence to the inquiry on Tuesday contrasted with that of the Guardian's editor-in-chief, Alan Rusbridger, who was also testifying. He has proposed a "regulator with teeth" and a statutory underpinning.

James Harding, the editor of the Times, told Leveson that any new press regulator needed to be "muscular and independent", but he feared the judge's landmark investigation into press ethics would lead to an act of parliament that would stifle the press.

full: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/jan/17/leveson-inquiry-murdoch-editors-regulation

Oh sure, those darned nanny state regulations are getting in the way of violating others' privacy rights because the free market will prevent such crimes!