I certainly don't think the payments are acceptable.
I believe the maximum amounts which The CICA are able to award are a disgrace. They ought to be MUCH higher.
I also believe that those who were 'hacked' were entitled to be compensated but not to the degree they were. IMHO, the ordinary man (or woman) in the street would never be paid such levels and, whilst I do agree that there has to be some privacy, those who seek publicity via stardom must expect that such things 'come with the territory'.
all this bo&&ocks about being scared to use the 'phone is, IMHO, shoite. If you were that bothered you would change your setup or use other means of communication. That's what joe public has to do when victimised by stalkers or violent ex-partners.
I really believe those 'celebs' may well have milked it knowing the money was coming off a broad belt.
Getting back to the original point, a better comparison would be to compare damages awarded to victims of actual injury (intentional or negligent) by the civil courts as against these celeb damages.
That would give a much truer picture of just how the system views things.