Would-Be U.K. Press Regulator Wants Online Curbs

Smacking down free speech wherever it raises its head

New laws are needed to end "mob rule" on the internet and "trial by Twitter", media standards watchdog Lord Justice Leveson has said.

The judge said that the prank call to the hospital treating the Duchess of Cambridge this week and topless photos taken of her this summer showed the importance of safeguarding privacy.

And speaking at a conference in Australia, he predicted politicians will eventually have to act to curb the "wilder excesses" of what happens online.

His remarks come as David Cameron is expected to propose setting up a new press watchdog under royal charter in a bid to end the row over the judge's call for state regulation of newspapers.