UK spying laws: Government introduces law requiring WhatsApp and iMessage to break their own security – The Independent

‘The draft Investigatory Powers Bill, or Snoopers’ Charter, keeps a provision that weakening of security will only happen in cases where it is ‘practicable’, but that could still allow the Government to outlaw many of the most popular chat services as they currently exist.’

Full story

The Independent, 1st March 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Home Office to publish revised draft of snooper’s charter – The Guardian

‘The home secretary, Theresa May, has revised some elements of her controversial “snooper’s charter” legislation in an attempt to address criticism by MPs and peers of the surveillance powers it confers.’

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The Guardian, 1st March 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Online divorce and probate set for early 2017, Munby says – Legal Futures

Posted March 1st, 2016 in case management, courts, divorce, internet, news, probate, speeches by sally

‘Online divorce and probate are set to be delivered under the courts modernisation programme by early 2017, the president of the Family Division has said.’

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Legal Futures, 1st March 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Accrington brothers jailed over Facebook judge posts – BBC News

Posted February 29th, 2016 in drug offences, internet, news, sentencing, suspended sentences by sally

‘Two drug dealing brothers taken back to court for mocking a judge when she decided not to send them to prison have now been jailed for two years.’

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BBC News, 26th February 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Court of Appeal must maintain brand owners’ right to obtain website blocking orders, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

‘The Court of Appeal in London must maintain the right of brand owners to obtain website blocking orders against internet service providers (ISPs) as a means of enforcing their trade mark rights against infringers, an expert has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 24th February 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

Brothers remanded after abusing judge on Facebook – Guardian

Posted February 17th, 2016 in drug offences, imprisonment, internet, judges, news, suspended sentences by michael

‘Two brothers have been remanded in custody after a judge ordered them back to court over abusive Facebook messages posted shortly after they were handed suspended prison terms.’

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Guardian, 16 February 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Government launches porn site age checks consultation – BBC News

Posted February 17th, 2016 in children, consultations, fines, internet, news, pornography by michael

‘A public consultation over plans to implement age checks on pornography websites has been launched by the UK government.’

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BBC News, 16 February 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

It’s time to overhaul the Investigatory Powers Bill – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted February 12th, 2016 in bills, internet, investigatory powers, news, reports by sally

‘This morning, the Joint Committee on the Draft Investigatory Powers Bill issued a 200-page report on the draft new law. It’s the next step in the scrutiny of a foundational piece of UK national security law – capabilities and safeguards on internet surveillance. The Report is remarkable and comprehensive work – not least because it was done in a few short months. The Committee has made no fewer than 86 recommendations for how the Bill can be improved.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 11th February 2016

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Google to extend ‘right to be forgotten’ to all its domains accessed in EU – The Guardian

Posted February 12th, 2016 in data protection, EC law, internet, news by sally

‘Google will begin blocking search results across all of its domains when a search takes place within Europe, in an extension of how it implements the “right to be forgotten” ruling.’

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The Guardian, 11th February 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Ministers have not made ‘conclusive case’ for new web snooping powers – The Guardian

‘The home secretary has yet to make a conclusive case for giving spying agencies new snooping powers to track the web browsing histories of all British citizens, a key committee of peers and MPs has concluded.’

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The Guardian, 11th February 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Internet monitoring bill ‘must do more to protect privacy’ – BBC News

‘Plans to authorise mass data collection and hacking by Britain’s spies do not do enough to protect privacy, a watchdog has warned.’

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BBC News, 9th February 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Judge complains of “too many swindlers” after wrongly questioning status of solicitor – Legal Futures

Posted February 8th, 2016 in appeals, bias, internet, judges, landlord & tenant, Law Society, news, solicitors by tracey

‘A judge who wrongly questioned the status of a solicitor after doing his own research on the Law Society’s website, has been criticised by the Court of Appeal.’

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Legal Futures, 5th February 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Lowestoft man jailed for raping 12-year-old he met online – BBC News

Posted February 8th, 2016 in child abuse, internet, news, rape, sentencing, sexual offences by tracey

‘A man who raped a 12-year-old girl he had groomed on social media has been jailed for eight years.’

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BBC News, 6th February 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Rapes linked to online dating up by more than 450% in five years – The Independent

Posted February 8th, 2016 in internet, national crime agency, news, rape, sexual offences, statistics by tracey

‘The number of rape allegations linked to online dating websites has increased sixfold in five years, according to Britain’s leading crime-fighting body.’

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The Independent, 8th February 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Investigatory powers bill: snooper’s charter lacks clarity, MPs warn – The Guardian

‘The government’s investigatory powers bill lacks clarity and is sowing confusion among tech firms about the extent to which “internet connection records” will be collected, a parliamentary select committee has warned.’

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The Guardian, 1st February 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Man sentenced to six weeks imprisonment for harassing victim because of disability – CPS News Brief

‘A 25 year old man who used social media to harass a man because of his disability has been sentenced to six weeks imprisonment.’

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CPS News Brief, 27th January 2016

Source: http://blog.cps.gov.uk

Webcam sex abuse ‘established reality’ in the UK – BBC News

‘Paedophile Trevor Monk paid for the live streaming of child abuse from the Philippines and then travelled there to carry out the abuse himself. His case represents a growing problem of British men ordering abuse over the internet.’

Full story

BBC News, 26th January 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Philippines abuse: Paedophile Trevor Monk jailed – BBC News

‘A paedophile who filmed himself abusing young girls in the Philippines has been jailed for 19-and-a-half years.’

Full story

BBC News, 26th January 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Domain names you can bank on – Technology Law Update

Posted January 26th, 2016 in domain names, internet, news, striking out by sally

‘Disputes over domain names tend to be dealt with outside of the normal court system, in panels run by dispute resolution service providers accredited by ICANN. So a decision of the UK court over as series of domain names including RBS group brands makes interesting reading.’

Full story

Technology Law Update, 22nd January 2016

Source: www.technology-law-blog.co.uk

24-hour sex notification order labelled ‘very odd’ by top British lawyer – The Independent

‘A leading barrister has described the issuing of a 24-hour sex notification order as “very odd” and “pretty silly”.’

Full story

The Independent, 24th January 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk