ADELAIDE (Reuter) - The world's most prominent publisher of tabloid newspapers, Rupert Murdoch, called on all media Tuesday to resist a push for tougher privacy laws in the wake of Princess Diana's death.
Murdoch said he did not regret using paparazzi photographs, apart from having paid too much for them.
"Privacy laws are for the protection of the people who are already privileged, they are not for the ordinary man and woman," Murdoch told a news conference after the annual meeting of his News Corp global media group here.
"The talk of privacy laws is to see if we can get a new privilege for the already privileged, and that should be resisted by all journalists and all people involved in publishing and television the world over," Murdoch said.
Murdoch, who owns British tabloids The Sun and The News of the World, said a lot of hypocrisy surrounded the call for tougher privacy rules following Diana's death.
Diana died in a high speed car crash in Paris on August 31 while she was being chased by paparazzi photographers.
"In the case of Diana -- there has been so much hyprocrisy about that," Murdoch said. "For instance the first person to say that they don't buy pictures from paparazzi was the Daily Mail and they had been buying, in association with us, from the paparazzi within 24 hours of that statement."
But Murdoch said his newspapers were not the worst culprits when it came to using paparazzi photographs, adding Diana worked closely with photographers for her own benefit.
"I don't want to throw stones in glass houses, but I would certainly say that we were by no means the worst offfenders and that Princess Diana, whom we all had great respect for, generally worked with the photographers to her satisfaction."
Murdoch said he had no regrets about using paparazzi photographs, although British newspapers would likely show more restraint after Diana's death.
"I think you will see a great deal more restraint by all the newspapers in Britian and I think you'll see a stronger and better policed code of ethics," he said.
Murdoch's comments follow a decision last month by British newspaper editors, including The Sun's, to back in principle a tougher media code of practice designed to clamp down on intrusion after Diana's death.
The proposals, drafted by Britain's Press Complaints Commission, include a ban on pictures taken by freelance paparazzi photographers, measures to stop harassment, more protection for children and a wider definition of private property to protect celebrities from prying lenses while they are in church or on the beach.
The code will be among the toughest in Europe and is seen as an attempt to allay public disquiet over Diana's death.
Murdoch said a better media code of ethics would also save newspapers money.
"I'd say our newspapers paid far too much for them (paparazzi photographs). It would be a major cost saving if we can bring this through."
