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One Direction's Harry Styles wins injunction against paparazzi

Photographers will have to give One Direction singer Harry Styles a wide berth — at least in the UK. The musician has won a court order that bars paparazzi from following him or hanging outside of his London home.The 19-year-old had asked the British high court to take action, his lawyer David Sherborne said, in hopes the photographers would change their behavior, reported The Guardian. The ord
One Direction singer Harry Styles wanted to make sure his fans knew the court injunction against photographers was not about them.
One Direction singer Harry Styles wanted to make sure his fans knew the court injunction against photographers was not about them.Mario Magnani/Bauer-Griffin / Today

Photographers will have to give One Direction singer Harry Styles a wide berth — at least in the UK. The musician has won a court order that bars paparazzi from following him or hanging outside of his London home.

The 19-year-old had asked the British high court to take action, his lawyer David Sherborne said, in hopes the photographers would change their behavior, reported The Guardian

The order, called "Paparazzi AAA and Others," prevents photographers from chasing Styles in cars or on motorcycles and the shutterbugs will have to stay 164 feet away from his house. But Sherborne was quick to clarify that the order was not directed at Styles' fans.

"This is not a privacy injunction," said Sherborne in court. "Mr. Styles is not trying to prevent fans approaching him in the street and taking photos. He remains happy to do that, as he always has. Rather, it is the method or tactics which have been used by a certain type of photographer."

Styles and other celebrities have been winning harassment victories recently in the courts: In September, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill that would keep paparazzi away from the children of stars such as Halle Berry and Jennifer Garner, both of whom testified in hearings about the legislation.

The Guardian quoted a freelance photographer who was unhappy with the Styles decision. Charlie Pycraft said, "I think it's an abuse of the law because these laws were set up for people being harassed and stalked when their lives are in danger. It's a misuse because they are not really being harassed — they are inviting it."

Styles' injunction remains in place until the new year, when the judge will make a further decision on how the court action should proceed.