‘Victims of press intrusion have accused the government of breaking its promise over regulation. The group, which includes Kate and Gerry McCann, says a delay in bringing into law a key part of the Royal Charter agreement is a “betrayal”.’
BBC News, 6th April 2016
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Following three trials of former members of Jehovah’s Witnesses’s congregations on charges of historic sex abuse the Charity Commission decided to initiate a statutory inquiry relating to a leading Jehovah’s Witness charity’s safeguarding policy regarding vulnerable beneficiaries in particular children, under section 46 of the Charities Act 2011, and to order the charity to produce a wide range of documents, under section 52 of the Act, even though none of those accused was connected with the charity. .The applicants, the charity and its trustees, sought judicial review of those decisions, on the grounds that (i) the commission had acted disproportionately by commencing an inquiry the scope of which was vague and undefined and by interfering with the applicants’ Convention rights, and had thereby breached its duty to act fairly so that the decision was irrational; and (ii) the scope of the production order was disproportionate in that information was sought of a personal and sensitive nature, within the meaning of the Data Protection Act 1998, and was furthermore in breach of the Convention rights of individuals affected. The judge in refusing permission to proceed with the judicial review clain held that the applicants had an effective statutory remedy by appealing to the First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber) (Charity) against a decision to initiate an inquiry, and that any complaint relating to the breadth of a production order could be dealt with before that tribunal.’
WLR Daily, 15th March 2016
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
‘The Court of Appeal has granted a privacy injunction (its first since 2011) to prevent the Sun on Sunday revealing details of a well-known entertainer’s extramarital threesome (PJS v News Group Newspapers Ltd [2016] EWCA Civ 100).’
RPC Data and Privacy Law, 23rd March 2016
Source: www.rpc.co.uk
‘Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) has failed in its bid to overturn a landmark ruling in which it was ordered to pay approximately £1.2 million in damages for infringing the privacy of eight individuals through phone hacking.’
OUT-LAW.com, 23rd March 2016
Source: www.out-law.com
‘An entertainer has prevented a tabloid newspaper from printing details of his extramarital affairs in a case that is expected to trigger a fresh round of legal battles between celebrities and newspapers over privacy injunctions.’
The Guardian, 22nd March 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Can the name of a local councillor who has defaulted on Council tax properly be withheld from disclosure under the exemption for personal data in s.40 FOIA? That was the issue for the Upper Tribunal (“UT”) in Haslam v (1) Information Commissioner (2) Bolton Council [2016] UKUT 0139 (AAC), 10 March 2016. Mr Haslam, a journalist on the Bolton News, had submitted a FOIA request to Bolton Council for disclosure of names of councillors who had received reminders for non-payment of Council tax since May 2011. The Council refused to name names, citing the exemption in s.40 FOIA. The Information Commissioner and First-Tier Tribunal (“FTT”) upheld the Council’s decision. The UT (Judge Markus QC) has now reversed the FTT’s decision, and held that the name of the individual councillor concerned should be released.’
Panopticon, 18th March 2016
Source: www.panopticonblog.com
‘The High Court has rejected jailed publicist Max Clifford’s attempt to limit his costs to only £5,000 in a privacy claim by making an “inadequate” Calderbank offer.’
Litigation Futures, 21st March 2016
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘One in five people receives an unsolicited, nuisance call every day in a practice fuelled by “ambulance-chasing lawyers,” a report has warned. The compensation culture, which is driven by claims management companies, has soared, despite government attempts to crack down on the practice.’
Daily Telegraph, 21st March 2016
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘Home Secretary Theresa May has defended controversial new surveillance powers as MPs debated them for the first time.’
BBC News, 15th March 2016
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The second reading of the bill today is an opportunity for Labour to challenge the government on substance and process – and fight for a law fit for the 21st century.’
The Guardian, 15th March 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘While the Apple v FBI row makes world headlines, people in the UK are disregarding a bill that permits hacking and gagging.’
The Guardian, 14th March 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘A London MP, David Lammy, has been hit with a £5,000 monetary penalty by the Information Commissioner’s Office after he instigated the making of 35,629 calls over two days.’
Local Government Lawyer, 10th March 2016
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘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.’
The Independent, 1st March 2016
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘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.’
The Guardian, 1st March 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘The law on media reporting of private proceedings continues to develop with the decision of the Court of Appeal in Re W [2016] EWCA Civ 113. The decision arises out of the care proceedings that followed the death of 13-month old Poppi Worthington which attracted very high levels of public interest and media coverage.’
Panopticon, 26th February 2016
Source: www.panopticonblog.com
‘Former royal butler Paul Burrell has won a high court privacy action against PR agent Max Clifford.’
The Guardian, 19th February 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) should properly have been called the Data Privacy Act: it is about privacy of personal data and not merely its security. Recent cases – if successful for the claimants – will change the litigation landscape for everyone.’
Gresham College, 27th January 2016
Source: www.gresham.ac.uk
‘Hacking of computers, networks and smartphones in the UK or abroad by GCHQ staff does not breach human rights, a security tribunal has ruled.’
The Guardian, 12th February 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘GCHQ is operating within the law when it hacks into computers and smart phones, a security tribunal has ruled.’
BBC News, 12th February 2016
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
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