Italian Paparazzi threatened with prison by watchdog

Life become tougher for the paparazzi since their original incarnation chased celebrities on the screen in Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita.

Now, the land of their birth is threatening prison terms for media that run photos or reports on the peccadilloes of the rich and famous.

The action by Italy's privacy watchdog followed the breakup of what authorities calls a paparazzi blackmailing ring that targeted actors, soccer players and politicians -- and while many welcomed the curbs, others voiced concerns on what it means for press freedoms.

After days of photos and transcripts of purported telephone intercepts and interrogations involving starlets, athletes and other celebrities, the Privacy Authority on Friday forbade publication of "private facts and behavior that is not of public interest, not relevant to the story ... and violate the protection of the sexual sphere."

Violations potential sanctions of three months to two years in prison, plus possible fines. The photographer at the center of the probe was arrested along with two others on Monday on allegations including extortion and money laundering.

The probe even touched former premier Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's richest man, when newspapers splashed reports that he was the victim of blackmail over a photo of his daughter.

The Privacy Authority moved after one of Premier Romano Prodi's closest aides was mentioned in a wiretapped conversation between two photographers.

"Privacy is sacred, but only that of politicians," ironized Il Giornale, a center-right newspaper owned by Berlusconi's brother, which first carried the story about the Prodi aide.

Even leftist senator Cesare Salvi acknowledged double standards may be at play.

"The risk is now that this measure will be interpreted as a persecution of journalists. As long as it was about soccer players and showgirls, no one minded; now that it is about politicians, things are changing,'' he told La Stampa newspaper.

The word paparazzo itself comes from the name of the aggressive photographer who teamed up with gossip journalist Marcello Mastroianni in Fellini's 1960 classic film.

They still stake out Rome's clubs and outdoor cafes in the search of celebrities, following legendary shutterbugs famous for punch outs with bodyguards.

News in France have faced tough restrictions since 2001, when a law went into effect prohibiting them from taking pictures of suspects in handcuffs or of crime victims whose dignity could be violated.

The latest scandal prompted the authority to move from "a request to a real ban," the authority president, Francesco Pizzetti, said in a column in Friday's Il Messaggero newspaper.

"The measure goes in the right direction of a better protection of citizens," said Michele Sorice, a professor of sociology of mass communications at Rome's La Sapienza University.