Lawyers join forces with journalists and social workers to protest against government snooping

Posted January 20th, 2015 in consultations, intelligence services, investigatory powers, news, police, privacy by sally

‘The Law Society and Bar Council have joined forces with the British Association of Social Workers and National Union of Journalists to form the ‘Professionals for Information Privacy Coalition’, and express their concern over the controls in place on how the government snoops on professionals.’

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Legal Futures, 20th January 2015

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Google launches challenge to Max Mosley’s privacy bid – BBC News

Posted January 15th, 2015 in data protection, internet, news, privacy by sally

‘Google has asked the High Court to throw out legal action being taken by ex-Formula 1 boss Max Mosley.’

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BBC News, 14th January 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Information commissioner calls for protection of private data amid calls for ‘snooper’s charter’ – The Independent

Posted January 15th, 2015 in data protection, intelligence services, investigatory powers, news, privacy by sally

‘The information commissioner has called for the establishment of a US-style agency to defend the privacy of citizens amid growing calls for the reintroduction of the “snoopers’ charter”.’

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The Independent, 13th January 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Female detainees at Yarl’s Wood routinely humiliated, claims report – The Guardian

‘Women detained in the Yarl’s Wood immigration detention centre are routinely humiliated by male staff who monitor them while they are dressing, showering and using the toilet, or are naked in their rooms, a report into the treatment of female asylum seekers reveals. The report, by the charity Women for Refugee Women, noted that many female asylum seekers detained at Yarl’s Wood, in Bedfordshire, have been victims of sexual violence in their home countries.’

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The Guardian, 14th January 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

A worrying new anti-terror law is sneaking through Parliament – The Guardian

‘As the world’s press and public stand vigil in support of Charlie Hebdo and the families of the victims of Wednesday’s attack, we wake this morning to reports that our security services are under pressure and seeking new powers. The spectre of the Communications Data Bill is again evoked. These reports mirror renewed commitments yesterday to new counter-terrorism measures for the EU and in France.’

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The Guardian, 9th January 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Wellers’ child privacy case: Peers urged to change law – BBC News

Posted January 7th, 2015 in children, families, media, news, photography, privacy by tracey

‘Parliament has been urged to make it illegal to publish photos of children without their parents’ consent. It follows a campaign by the wife of the rock star Paul Weller, who won a high court battle last year over unpixelated photos of their children published by a newspaper website.’

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BBC News, 6th January 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Domestic CCTV users may face tougher rules – The Guardian

‘Homeowners who use a domestic surveillance camera system on their properties but fail to take their neighbours’ privacy into account could face tougher rules in future, a Home Office watchdog has said.’

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The Guardian, 16th December 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Unwanted anonymity and gagging orders – Free Movement

Posted December 17th, 2014 in anonymity, asylum, children, immigration, news, privacy, tribunals by sally

‘I’ve now come across two cases in which judges of the First-tier Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber have imposed unwanted anonymity orders on parties without any application or notice. One case is reported here and the other can’t be reported because of, well, the anonymity order. In both cases there was media interest beforehand and the orders acts as a gagging orders, preventing the parties from discussing their case with the media, even though the cases and the identities of the appellants had already been reported. In one of the cases the appellant had a child and that provided the reason or pretext for imposing anonymity. In the other unreported case children are named in the determination but are entirely tangental to the case and could easily have not been named.’

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Free Movement, 17th December 2014

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk

Commons watchdog will publish names of MPs facing expenses investigation – Daily Telegraph

Posted December 16th, 2014 in disclosure, expenses, media, news, parliament, privacy, private hearings by tracey

‘IPSA will name MPs who face investigation into their expenses, but they will be able to have the hearings in private.’

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Daily Telegraph, 15th December 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Google in court again over ‘right to be above British law’ on alleged secret monitoring – The Independent

Posted December 9th, 2014 in advertising, internet, news, privacy by sally

‘A battle by Google to establish that it is above British law resumed today in a landmark trial that will decide whether or not it can be held accountable by its users in this country.’

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The Independent, 8th December 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Above and below the waterline: IPT finds that Prism and Tempora are lawful – Panopticon

‘The now famous revelations by US whistleblower Edward Snowden focused on US government programmes under which vast amounts of data about individuals’ internet usage and communications were said to have been gathered. The allegations extended beyond the US: the UK government and security agencies, for example, were also said to be involved in such activity.’

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Panopticon, 5th December 2014

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

UK mass surveillance laws do not breach human rights, tribunal rules – The Guardian

‘Britain’s legal regime governing mass surveillance of the internet by intelligence agencies does not violate human rights, a tribunal has ruled.’

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The Guardian, 5th December 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

John Catt Brighton ‘extremism’ case at Supreme Court – BBC News

Posted December 2nd, 2014 in data protection, news, police, privacy, Supreme Court by sally

‘A decision that a Brighton peace activist’s details can be removed from an extremism database is being challenged in the UK’s highest court.’

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BBC News, 2nd December 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Google to remove businessman’s online abuse from search results after High Court settlement – The Independent

Posted November 25th, 2014 in harassment, internet, news, privacy by sally

‘A former Morgan Stanley banker has reached an agreement with Google that will see pages of online abuse removed from the search results for his name.’

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The Independent, 24th November 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Internet data plan back on political agenda – BBC News

‘A law forcing firms to hand details to police identifying who was using a computer or mobile phone at a given time is to be outlined by Theresa May.’

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BBC News, 23rd November 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Investing in crime fighting technology: accountability versus privacy rights – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

‘The London Met has recently indicated that officers will be fitted with body cameras. Other wearable technology such as wi-fi enabled clothing that allows real-time tracking, vital sign monitoring and constant communications is being trialled in the US.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 21st November 2014

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

‘Fake sheikh’ fails in bid to stop Panorama revealing appearance

Posted November 11th, 2014 in appeals, BBC, injunctions, media, news, privacy by michael

‘The “fake sheikh” journalist Mazher Mahmood has failed in an appeal to the high court to prevent BBC1’s Panorama from revealing his appearance.’

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The Guardian, 10th November 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Move to introduce jail time as potential punishment for UK data protection breaches stalls – OUT-LAW.com

‘Another attempt to introduce jail sentences as a possible punishment to individuals who access or disclose personal data in breach of data protection rules has stalled in the UK parliament.

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24th October 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Right to be forgotten: who may exercise power, over which kind of information? – The Guardian

Posted October 22nd, 2014 in EC law, internet, news, privacy by sally

‘The fifth and sixth public meetings of Google’s advisory council met in Berlin and London recently, inviting experts and the public to discuss the outcome of the recent “right to be forgotten ruling” made by the European court of Justice. Adviser Luciano Floridi explains the consultations.’

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The Guardian, 21st October 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Police ‘use loophole’ to access phone and email records – Daily Telegraph

‘Police forces have used a loophole to access phone and email records, it has been claimed.’

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Daily Telegraph, 20th October 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk