R (HM) v Secretary of State for the Home Department – Blackstone Chambers

‘The Divisional Court (Lord Justice Edis and Mr Justice Lane) have handed down an important judgment concerning the legality of the Government’s policy to search, seize and retain data from the mobile phones of migrants arriving by small boat.’

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Blackstone Chambers, 25th March 2022

Source: www.blackstonechambers.com

Rape victim sues police for naming her online – BBC News

‘A woman who was gang-raped by men claiming to be Welsh rugby players has sued the police for naming her online.’

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BBC News, 7th April 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

UK High Court rules blanket seizure of asylum seekers’ phones breached Article 8 ECHR – EIN Blog

‘On 25 March 2022, the UK High Court ruled that the Home Office acted unlawfully and breached human rights and data protection laws by operating a secret, blanket policy of seizing, retaining and extracting data from the mobile phones of asylum seekers arriving by small boat to UK shores between April and November 2020.’

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EIN Blog, 25th March 2022

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Firm fined almost £100,000 over ransomware attack – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted March 11th, 2022 in computer crime, data protection, fines, law firms, news, privacy by tracey

‘Criminal defence firm Tuckers Solicitors has been fined £98,000 after failing to secure sensitive court bundles that were later published on the dark web and held to ransom by organised criminals.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 10th March 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Research Briefing: CCTV surveillance by your neighbour – House of Commons Library

Posted February 28th, 2022 in closed circuit television, data protection, news, parliament, privacy by tracey

‘Constituents sometimes complain to their MPs that a neighbour’s CCTV camera is “intrusive” and ask what the law states.’

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House of Commons Library , 24th February 2022

Source: commonslibrary.parliament.uk

Competition watchdog accepts Google’s privacy changes – The Independent

‘The competition watchdog has accepted proposed changes made by Google to the way it uses customer data.’

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The Independent, 11th February 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Case Comment: Lloyd v Google LLC [2021] UKSC 50 – UKSC Blog

‘In this post, Kenny Henderson and Alex Askew of CMS comment on the Supreme Court’s decision in Lloyd v Google LLC [2021] UKSC 50, which concerned whether a representative data protection action seeking damages for loss of control of personal data could be brought on behalf of large numbers of unidentifiable class members.’

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UKSC Blog, 31st January 2022

Source: ukscblog.com

High Court rejects claim council was vicariously liable after employee on “frolic of her own” leaked social care records – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 31st, 2022 in data protection, employment, families, local government, news, vicarious liability by tracey

‘Luton Borough Council was not vicariously liable for the acts of an employee who leaked sensitive data about a woman and her children, in what a High Court judge called a “classic case” of the employee being on a “frolic of her own”.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 28th January 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

End-to-end encryption protects children, says UK information watchdog – The Guardian

Posted January 21st, 2022 in children, data protection, delay, internet, news, ombudsmen, privacy, telecommunications by sally

‘The UK data watchdog has intervened in the debate over end-to-end encryption, warning that delaying its introduction puts “everyone at risk” including children.’

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The Guardian, 21st January 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

MoJ threatened with fine over huge data request backlog – Legal Futures

Posted January 20th, 2022 in data protection, delay, fines, Ministry of Justice, news by tracey

‘The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has threatened to fine the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) if it fails to deal with thousands of outstanding subject access requests (SARs).’

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Legal Futures, 19th January 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

UK data watchdog warns No 10 staff not to erase messages amid party probe – The Independent

‘The UK’s data watchdog has warned that it is important “official records are kept” as Downing Street staff face an investigation over allegations of lockdown-breaking.’

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The Independent, 13th January 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Meta faces billion-pound class-action case – BBC News

Posted January 14th, 2022 in appeals, class actions, competition, damages, data protection, internet, news, privacy by tracey

‘Up to 44 million UK Facebook users could share £2.3bn in damages, according to a competition expert intending to sue parent company Meta.’

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BBC news, 14th January 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

UK data watchdog seeks talks with Meta over child protection concerns -The Guardian

Posted January 10th, 2022 in children, data protection, internet, news, ombudsmen, privacy by tracey

‘The UK’s data watchdog is seeking clarification from Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta about parental controls on its popular virtual reality headset, as campaigners warned that it could breach an online children’s safety code.’

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The Guardian, 9th January 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

The future of class actions after Lloyd – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 6th, 2021 in appeals, class actions, compensation, damages, data protection, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘On 10 November, the Supreme Court handed down its long-awaited decision in Lloyd v Google LLC [2021] UKSC 50. The court found unanimously for Google, overturning the Court of Appeal. Mr Lloyd’s claim will not now proceed (at least as currently formulated).’

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Law Society's Gazette, 6th December 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Cabinet Office fined £500,000 over New Year honours list data breach – The Guardian

Posted December 3rd, 2021 in data protection, fines, government departments, news, peerages & dignities, privacy by tracey

‘The Cabinet Office has been fined £500,000 by the UK’s data watchdog after the postal addresses of the 2020 New Year honours recipients were disclosed online.’

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The Guardian, 2nd December 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Facial recognition firm faces possible £17m privacy fine – BBC News

Posted November 30th, 2021 in artificial intelligence, data protection, facial mapping, fines, news, privacy by tracey

‘An Australian firm which claims to have a database of more than 10 billion facial images is facing a potential £17m fine over its handling of personal data in the UK.’

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BBC news, 29th November 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Private firms working for UK government ‘should be subject to FOI rules’ – The Guardian

‘Private outsourcing companies that win government contracts should be subject to freedom of information rules, according to the outgoing information commissioner, who warned the existing transparency law is no longer fit for the modern age.’

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The Guardian, 25th November 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

“Abusive” to bring minor data breach claim in High Court – Legal Futures

‘A master has labelled as “a form of procedural abuse” a bid to bring a data breach claim in the High Court where the “very modest” damages would be dwarfed by costs of £50,000.’

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Legal Futures, 17th November 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Are the digital tools we’ve got used to during the pandemic subject to misuse? – Each Other

Posted November 16th, 2021 in computer programs, coronavirus, data protection, equality, human rights, news, privacy by sally

‘At the start of 2020, the urgent need to contain COVID-19 meant that alongside direct medical and clinical strategies, most countries tried to restrict the majority of the population’s movements in some way.’

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Each Other, 16th November 2021

Source: eachother.org.uk

News focus: Where next for mass claims? – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The Supreme Court’s ruling in Lloyd, blocking a multi-billion-pound claim against Google, exposes the lack of legislation providing redress in mass claims. But CPR 19.6 could offer a way forward.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 15th November 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk