The
News International phone-hacking scandal, dubbed hackgate by the press, is an ongoing controversy involving the defunct
News of the World and other British newspapers published by
News International, a subsidiary of
News Corporation. Employees of the newspaper were accused of engaging in
phone hacking,
police bribery, and exercising improper influence in the pursuit of publishing stories. Investigations conducted from 2005–2007 concluded that the paper's phone hacking activities were limited to celebrities, politicians and members of the
British Royal Family. In July 2011, it was revealed that the phones of murdered schoolgirl
Milly Dowler, relatives of deceased British soldiers, and victims of the
7/7 London bombings were also accessed, resulting in a public outcry against News Corporation and owner
Rupert Murdoch. Advertiser boycotts contributed to the closure of the News of the World on 10 July, ending 168 years of publication.
Continued public pressure later forced News Corporation to cancel its proposed takeover of the British telecommunications company
BSkyB.