Mr Justice Warby to head new list for media-related cases
It has been announced that as of 1 March 2017 there will be a new list within the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court – the Media and Communications List. Mr Justice Warby is… Read More »
Council apologises for false abuse letter
Northamptonshire County Council has today apologised in court to Theo Taylor for the publication of a letter from a social worker in its social services department which led to Mr Taylor’s child being removed. In… Read More »
Prince wins libel and DPA appeals
The Court of Appeal has rejected a news website publisher’s contention that bringing a claim for unfair and inaccurate processing under the Data Protection Act 1998 alongside a claim for libel was an abuse of process, and… Read More »
Wafic Saïd settles Data Protection Act claim against Barclays
Mr Wafic Saïd has discontinued his legal action against Barclays Bank after the bank apologised to him for the way it ended their banking relationship and clarified the basis for its decision. An agreed joint… Read More »
Court of Appeal hearing in ANL v Weller
On 27 and 28 October 2015 the Court of Appeal heard an appeal by Associated Newspapers Limited, the publisher of the MailOnline website, against the judgment of Mr Justice Dingemans dated 16 April 2014, in… Read More »
Supreme Court to hear Vidal-Hall
The Supreme Court has granted Google permission to appeal in part in Vidal-Hall v Google. Permission to appeal was given in relation to the issue of whether compensation under section 13(2) Data Protection Act 1998 can be… Read More »
Permission granted to add data protection claim
On 16 July 2015 Mr Justice Dingemans handed down his judgment on an application in the case of His Highness Prince Moulay Hicham Ben Abdullah Al Alaoui of Morocco v Elaph Publishing Limited. The Claimant… Read More »
Supreme Court: police retention of data lawful
The Supreme Court has allowed the appeals of two individuals who claimed that the police retention of electronic data about them on a searchable database breached their rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on… Read More »
5RB Talks 2015: Bristol
5RB‘s series of 2015 talks kicked off on 12 February in Bristol. 5RB‘s Jacob Dean, Felicity McMahon and Julian Santos spoke about the Defamation Act 2013 and developments since it came into force, how to… Read More »
ICO requires changes to Google privacy policy
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has required Google to sign a formal undertaking to improve its privacy policy and provide users with more and clearer information about how it uses personal data gathered from its… Read More »
ICO finds in favour of campaigning charity
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has decided that the work of the charity Global Witness can come within the scope of the “journalistic exemption” in the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). Global Witness, which investigates… Read More »
Nuisance calls and texts consultation
The law may be changed to make it easier to punish those responsible for nuisance calls, text messages and emails. The Government is consulting on plans to lower or remove the threshold which must be… Read More »
ICO publishes data protection guide for the media
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has today published Data Protection and Journalism: A Guide for the Media. The publication of the guide follows a consultation on draft guidance which took place earlier this year. The guide has… Read More »
What does “damage” mean under the DPA?
On 11 June 2014, Wikeley J dismissed the Information Commissioner’s appeal (IC v Niebel [2014] UKUT 0255 (AAC)) against the First-Tier Tribunal’s decision to allow Mr Niebel’s appeal against a monetary penalty notice (MPN) of… Read More »
CJEU: Google must remove certain search results
The CJEU today handed down judgment in C-131/12 Google Spain SL, Google Inc. v Agencia Española de Protección de Datos, Mario Costeja González. The ruling, on the application of the Data Protection Directive (Directive 95/46/EC… Read More »
ICO consults on guidance for the media
The Information Commissioner’s Office has launched a consultation on draft guidance for the media on the Data Protection Act 1998. The guide has been developed in response to the recommendation in the Leveson Report that… Read More »
High Court hearing in construction industry “blacklisting” claims
On Friday 29 November the High Court heard from lawyers acting for 4 groups of claimants in actions brought over the alleged “blacklisting” of workers in the construction industry. Master Whitaker gave directions for all… Read More »
DPP unveils guidance on social media prosecutions
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Keir Starmer has issued guidance for the CPS on when to initiate legal action against those who breach UK communications laws on social media. The guidance comes after a number… Read More »
Community orders for data protection breaches?
Journalists prosecuted for offences under the Data Protection Act could be given community orders, including curfew orders, if existing amendments to the Act are brought into force, as proposed by the Leveson Report. Prison or fines… Read More »
Was prank call a crime?
Data protection specialists have suggested that the notorious prank call by Australian broadcasters to King Edward VII hospital “could constitute a criminal offence under UK data protection law”. If so, it is an offence which… Read More »