(Credit: littlevisuals via Pexels)

The UK Mail Online invaded the privacy of a family when it published photos of a wedding. The Mail’s justification? The bridesmaid sister of the bride is a TV host.

The UK press regulator the Independent Press Standards Organisation rejected that argument and ruled that the August 2018 photos and news story of host Stacey Solomon at her sister Jemma’s wedding were invasive.

The photos showed Solomon smoking, Stacey and Jemma’s children and pictures of the dressing. Stacey and Jemma’s mother Fiona Solomon complained on her family’s behalf, noting that the family booked the venue to prevent any one from seeing the wedding, that the children shouldn’t have been shown even if pixelated, that the photos weren’t newsworthy or in the public interest. Further, the Solomons said bride was upset she didn’t get to see her official wedding photos before the newspaper’s.

iMediaEthics has written to the Mail and Solomon’s reps. Stacey Solomon’s representatives declined to comment to iMediaEthics.

The Mail argued it was fair to publish the photos and story and claimed its photograph was able to access the wedding site grounds, it is fair to publish information on weddings and the Solomon sisters posted pictures on social media about their family.

IPSO however said “the fact of a marriage” isn’t private, but “information relating to the celebrations in connection with a wedding, including photographs” may be photos. It was an invasion for the photographer to go on the grounds of the wedding and take photos of a private event without the Solomons’ knowledge.

It wasn’t an invasion necessarily to publish pixelated photos of the children, but overall the photos were an invasion, IPSO said. The Mail must publish the IPSO adjudication on its website.