The Mirror, the Sun, and Birmingham Mail all unpublished stories after an unnamed teenager complained to the press regulator about their stories on her.
The stories reported that the teenager, who was 16 years old at the time of publication, had eloped and her parents said thy were ordered to pay child maintenance support for her.
The teen in question wasn’t named by IPSO. She complained that the article was an invasion of privacy because it identified her parents and husband by name. She also said it was inaccurate to suggest her husband wanted child support because she said it was an administrative error.
The Mirror and Birmingham Mail similarly defended their article, saying marriage is in the public record, the girl wasn’t identified by name or photo, and they got other information from her parents. Both outlets are owned by Reach PLC. The Sun responded to the complaint by saying it reviewed the Editors’ Code before publication.
iMediaEthics has written to the three outlets for more information about their decision to delete the articles.