Impact on rape victims of police phone seizures to be reviewed – The Guardian

‘The impact on rape victims of police seizures of their mobile phones is to be examined as the Metropolitan police begin piloting a data inspection system designed to limit invasion of privacy.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 16th February 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Tate Modern privacy row residents dealt legal blow – BBC News

Posted February 13th, 2020 in appeals, injunctions, news, nuisance, privacy by tracey

‘Flat owners overlooked by Tate Modern visitors on a viewing platform have been dealt a legal blow in a row over their privacy. Residents of Neo Bankside want to stop “hundreds of thousands of visitors” watching them from the platform. But the Court of Appeal has dismissed their claim to privacy saying they should “lower their solar blinds”.’

Full Story

BBC News, 12th February 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

The President’s Call For Evidence – First Thoughts – Transparency Project

‘It was last May, not long after he had dealt with journalist and TP member Louise Tickle’s successful appeal against a wrongly imposed reporting restriction order, that the President of the Family Division announced he would be holding a ‘Transparency Review’.’

Full Story

Transparency Project, 11th February 2020

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

Met police deploy live facial recognition technology – The Guardian

‘The Metropolitan police have been accused of defying the warnings of its own watchdogs by beginning operational use of facial recognition CCTV, despite a scathing assessment of its effectiveness from the expert hired to scrutinise its trials.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 11th February 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

MI5 May Be Forced To Destroy ‘Unlawfully’ Handled Personal Data – Each Other

Posted February 4th, 2020 in data protection, intelligence services, news, privacy by sally

‘Privacy groups have launched fresh legal challenge to pressure MI5 into destroying personal data which it has handled “unlawfully”.’

Full Story

Each Other, 3rd February 2020

Source: eachother.org.uk

Filming partner without their consent during sex ruled a criminal offence – The Guardian

‘Anyone who films a partner during sex without their consent is committing the criminal offence of voyeurism, the court of appeal has ruled in a case that may affect the Crown Prosecution Service’s apparent reluctance to bring charges.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 28th January 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Article 8 & Unfair Dismissal – January 2020 – Pallant Chambers

Posted January 28th, 2020 in human rights, news, privacy, probation, unfair dismissal by sally

‘Q v Secretary of State for Justice UKEAT/0120/19 was a recent case in which the Employment Appeal Tribunal looked at the application of the Article 8 in a conduct dismissal case.’

Full Story

Pallant Chambers, 23rd January 2020

Source: www.pallantchambers.co.uk

UK court allows Saudi dissident to sue kingdom over alleged hacking – The Guardian

‘The high court has given a green light to a lawsuit against Saudi Arabia that has been brought by a prominent dissident living in London who has claimed he was the victim of a sophisticated hacking campaign by the kingdom.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 23rd January 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

New ‘transformational’ code to protect children’s privacy online – BBC News

Posted January 22nd, 2020 in children, codes of practice, families, internet, news, privacy, suicide by sally

‘Social media sites, online games and streaming services used by children will have to abide by a new privacy code set by the UK’s data watchdog.’

Full Story

BBC News, 22nd January 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Immigration and Article 8: what did we learn in 2019? – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted January 20th, 2020 in appeals, deportation, families, human rights, immigration, news, privacy, proportionality by sally

‘As in previous years, the courts in 2019 were particularly concerned with Theresa May’s attempts as Home Secretary to codify the Article 8 proportionality exercise into legislation. Those changes have had a significant impact on the approach of tribunals to appeals against deportation and removal on grounds of private and family life. Judges now have to apply a series of prescribed tests under the immigration rules, before going on to consider whether there are exceptional circumstances requiring a grant of leave.’

Full Story

UK Human Rights Blog, 17th January 2020

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Tech Companies In Legal Bid Over UK’s Cancelled ‘Porn Block’ – Each Other

‘Four tech companies have launched legal action to pressure the government into introducing age verification (AV) checks for people accessing porn online.’

Full Story

Each Other, 17th January 2020

Source: eachother.org.uk

Legal loophole exposed after activist not prosecuted for ‘planting’ tracker on hunt vehicle – Daily Telegraph

Posted January 20th, 2020 in electronic monitoring, hunting, news, privacy, spying by sally

‘Countryside groups have called for tougher rules on the use of tracking devices after a huntswoman allegedly caught an anti-hunt activist planting one under her horse trailer.’

Full Story

Daily Telegraph, 18th January 2020

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

The President of the Family Division’s New Guidance on Reporting in the Family Courts (3rd October 2019) – Becket Chambers

‘Faced with the competing claims of transparency and privacy, free speech and family life, family law will always incline towards the latter. Its first instincts are protective, guarding the intimacies and lives of its own subject families and, particularly, its children.[1] First and foremost, family proceedings are and remain private matters. This fundamental principle holds fast. However, things are not simply as they were before. Successive Presidents of the Family Division have now expressly addressed the subject in the form of three separate occasions. At the very least, it is clear that the dynamic is being given careful thought. Whilst the guidances do not amount to a tilting of the scales, they are nevertheless guidances specifically designed to address acts of reporting. When President of the Family Division, Sir James Munby issued two guidances on transparency and anonymisation. Sir Andrew McFarlane, the current President, has now (as of October 2018) issued further guidance specifically dealing with applications to lift and vary reporting restrictions.’

Full Story

Becket Chambers, 15th January 2020

Source: becket-chambers.co.uk

5 UK Human Rights Issues and Trends to Watch in 2020 – Each Other

‘From landmark legal cases to a landslide general election result, and civil disobedience to constitutional upheaval – the UK had no shortage of human rights news stories in 2019.’

Full Story

Each Other, 6th January 2020

Source: eachother.org.uk

10 cases that defined 2019 – UK Human Rights Blog

‘And so, we reach the end of another year. And what a year it has been. As well perhaps the most tumultuous period in British politics for decades, this year saw the first ever image taken of a black hole, a victory for the England men’s cricket team at the World Cup, the discovery of a new species of prehistoric small-bodied human in the Philippines and signs that humpback whale numbers in the South Atlantic have bounced back thanks to intensive conservation efforts. And the law? Well, rather a lot has happened really. As the festive season draws near, what better way is there to celebrate than to rewind the clock and relive the 10 cases which have defined 2019?’

Full Story

UK Human Rights Blog, 19th December 2019

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Speech by Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb: Mind-Reading: Neuroscience and The Law – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Posted December 16th, 2019 in forensic science, human rights, investigatory powers, privacy, speeches by tracey

‘Speech by Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb: Mind-Reading: Neuroscience and The Law.’

Full speech

Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 13th December 2019

Source: www.judiciary.uk

Welcome to the jungle – New Law Journal

Posted December 10th, 2019 in media, misuse of private information, news, privacy by sally

‘I’m a celebrity, but don’t get my private information out of here! Jeremy Clarke-Williams & Nilly Tabatabai report (Pt 1).’

Full Story

New Law Journal, 5th December 2019

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

Some you might have missed – Panopticon

Posted December 5th, 2019 in consent, data protection, human rights, immigration, internet, news, privacy by sally

By which we mean: some that we did miss blogging about. With apologies and better late than nevers, here’s a round-up of three recent(ish) cases worthy of note. In R (Open Rights Group) v SSHD digital campaigners Open Rights Group and The3million (campaigning on behalf of so many EU Citizens living in the UK) challenged the immigration exemption – one of the few new features in the DPA 2018 that strengthens the controller’s hand – as incompatible with fundamental charter rights to privacy and protection of personal data. They also contended that it was too broad, vague and lacking in the safeguards required by the parent Article 23 GDPR (which enables Member States to enact domestic exemptions).The exemption follows a formula which is familiar from other exemptions, old and new – processing of personal data relating to some public good is exempt from data subject rights, to the extent that the public good is jeopardised by execise of those rights. The immigration-specific exemption is new – as the Secretary of State’s witness explained [29], ‘where an exemption was required in an immigration context, reliance was placed on the crime exemption contained latterly in s.29 of DPA 1998’. In other words, the Home Office was getting by OK under the old regime, and one aspect of the challenge to the exemption was that the introduction of a measure infringing fundamental rights must be ‘strictly necessary’.

Full Story

Panopticon, 5th December 2019

Source: panopticonblog.com

Court of Appeal to hear facial recognition technology challenge – Law Society’s Gazette

‘A Cardiff resident who lost a High Court challenge over police deployment of automated facial recognition technology has been given permission to take his case to the Court of Appeal.’

Full Story

Law Society's Gazette, 20th November 2019

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Information watchdog updates guidance for data controllers on protecting ‘special category data’ – Local Government Lawyer

Posted November 18th, 2019 in codes of practice, data protection, local government, news, ombudsmen, privacy by sally

‘The ICO has issued updated guidance on special category data, to which data controllers must give extra protection under the GDPR.’

Full Story

Local Government Lawyer, 15th November 2019

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk