Millions of Britons were justifiably outraged over last year’s serial revelations of illegal and unethical behavior by the powerful and influential tabloid press in Britain. But the regulatory remedies proposed Thursday by an official commission of inquiry seem misplaced, excessive and potentially dangerous to Britain’s centuries-old traditions of a press free from government regulation.

In a nearly 2,000-page report, the commission, led by Lord Justice Sir Brian Leveson, cataloged the glaring misdeeds of Rupert Murdoch’s sensationalist tabloid, The News of the World, which is no longer published.

Noting, among other things, the tabloid’s “reckless disregard for accuracy,” and “lack of respect for individual privacy,” it called on Parliament to create an independent regulatory body with the authority to fine newspapers up to $1.6 million for violating its guidelines. This new organization, which newspapers could join voluntarily, would replace the largely ineffective Press Complaints Commission, run by the news industry itself, which is supposed to uphold a code of ethical journalistic practices agreed to by participating publications.

Creating an independent regulatory body would require new legislation. To his credit, Prime Minister David Cameron seems opposed to proceeding in that direction. Conscientious members of all political parties should oppose it as well.