Home Office faces legal claims over seizure of asylum seekers’ phones – The Guardian

‘The Home Office faces a wave of legal claims after the UK’s surveillance watchdog found a blanket policy of seizing thousands of asylum seekers’ mobile phones caused “significant harm”.’

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The Guardian, 4th June 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Why is Prince Harry heading to the High Court? – BBC News

Posted June 5th, 2023 in interception, media, news, privacy, royal family, telecommunications by sally

‘Prince Harry is one of four people claiming Mirror Group newspapers hacked their voicemails. It is one of several cases the Duke of Sussex is currently involved in with British tabloids.’

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BBC News, 5th June 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Law Commission calls for tighter rules on use of personal records in rape trials – The Guardian

‘Greater restrictions should be introduced on the use of rape complainants’ personal records and evidence relating to their sexual behaviour to avoid rape myths contaminating trials in England and Wales, a government-commissioned review has said.’

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The Guardian, 23rd May 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Google representative action on behalf of 1.6m people struck out – Legal Futures

‘The High Court has struck out a representative action brought on behalf of 1.6m people who claimed Google and DeepMind Technologies misused their medical records.’

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Legal Futures, 22nd May 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Jeevan Hariharan: The Changing Face of Horizontal Effect – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted May 19th, 2023 in constitutional law, human rights, judges, news, privacy, speeches by sally

‘On 10 March, Lord Sales delivered the Cambridge Freshfields Annual Law Lecture on the topic of “constitutional values in the common law of obligations”. The lecture, which has not been discussed so far on this blog, seeks to explain how constitutional values familiar from the world of public law (such as freedom of expression, liberty and access to justice) feature in private law areas such as tort and contract. In the course of the speech, Lord Sales articulates a particular conception of how the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) relates to the way UK courts resolve disputes between private parties, an issue commonly referred to following the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) as “horizontal effect”. Lord Sales’ picture, which is summarised briefly below, is revealing because it offers an insight into how the Supreme Court, as currently constituted, seems to have shifted its approach in relation to horizontal effect. As I explain, the HRA’s horizontal effect was central in particular to the development of the English law of privacy. More recently, however, there is evidence of the court rejecting arguments based on the ECHR and HRA in the private law context. This can be understood as a continuation of a well-documented and controversial trend discernible in public law decisions, where the court has criticised the tendency to focus on the HRA and increasingly championed common law constitutional rights.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 17th May 2023

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Police barred from requesting rape victims’ medical and school records – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 16th, 2023 in education, medical records, news, police, privacy, prosecutions, rape, victims by sally

‘Police will be barred from asking for rape victims’ therapy, health, school or other personal records unless it is “absolutely necessary” under new laws to reverse plummeting conviction rates.’

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Daily Telegraph, 16th May 2023

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Warnings over NHS data privacy after ‘stalker’ doctor shares woman’s records – The Guardian

‘The confidentiality of NHS medical records has been thrown into doubt after a “stalker” hospital doctor accessed and shared highly sensitive information about a woman who had started dating her ex-boyfriend, despite not being involved in her care.’

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The Guardian, 14th May 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Misuse of private information in UK law – OUT-LAW.com

Posted May 10th, 2023 in data protection, freedom of expression, human rights, news, privacy by sally

‘Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (‘the Convention’) protects a person’s right to “respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence”, while article 10 protects the right to freedom of expression.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 9th May 2023

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

WhatsApp and other messaging apps oppose “surveillance” – BBC News

Posted April 18th, 2023 in bills, child abuse, children, encryption, internet, news, privacy by sally

‘Encrypted messaging services have jointly called for changes to parts of the UK Online Safety Bill (OSB).’

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BBC News, 18th April 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

The Tate Modern case: are human rights relevant to property law cases between private parties? – Mills & Reeve

Posted April 11th, 2023 in human rights, news, nuisance, privacy, Supreme Court by sally

‘The recent Supreme Court decision of Fearn v Board of Trustees of the Tate Gallery [2023] will, no doubt, become the leading case in relation to the law on private nuisance, and one might, understandably, overlook the case in terms of what it said about human rights. The Supreme Court said that Article 8, the right to respect for private and family life, was an “unnecessary complication and distraction in this case”.’

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Mills & Reeve, 6th April 2023

Source: www.mills-reeve.com

Nuisance law and a diverging of judgments – Solicitors’ Journal

Posted March 30th, 2023 in judgments, news, nuisance, privacy, Supreme Court by sally

‘Gordon Wignall explores a nuisance case in the Supreme Court about the Tate Modern and Richard Roger’s glass dwellers’ lack of privacy.’

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Solicitors' Journal, 27th March 2023

Source: www.solicitorsjournal.com

SLAPPs – defamation, privacy, public participation and reform – Mills & Reeve

‘SLAPPs – what are they? If you’ve asked yourself that question, it’s most likely a good thing. In this article we take a look at the impact of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), which present an important issue within society, politics and the legal profession, particularly in a libel and privacy context.’

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Mills & Reeve, 14th March 2023

Source: www.mills-reeve.com

Is Sharing Caring? Disclosures from the Family Courts to Professional Regulators – UK Human Rights Blog

‘The Guardian newspaper reported the decision in Re X (Disclosure to Social Work England: Findings of Domestic Abuse) [2023] EWHC 447 (Fam) with the headline, “social worker who abused ex-partner loses fight to keep details from regulator”. Reading that one might instinctively think, “well, of course he lost”. For my part, when I read beyond the Guardian’s journalism and into Knowles J’s 67 paragraph judgment in this matter, I may also have thought “well, of course he lost”.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 14th March 2023

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Mother wins appeal over sending of domestic abuse findings made against social worker father to regulator – Local Government Lawyer

‘A High Court judge has allowed an appeal brought by a mother over whether a judgment in long-running private law proceedings that made findings of domestic abuse against the father, who works as a social worker, should be sent to his regulator, Social Work England (SWE).’

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Local Government Lawyer, 10th March 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Important to review Nicola Bulley case, says PCC – BBC News

Posted March 7th, 2023 in missing persons, news, police, privacy by sally

‘A police boss said it was important to review a force’s handling of the Nicola Bulley case to understand how the narrative got so “out of control”.’

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BBC News, 6th March 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Nicola Bulley: Ofcom ‘extremely concerned’ by family media complaints – BBC News

Posted February 22nd, 2023 in bereavement, complaints, families, media, missing persons, news, ombudsmen, privacy by sally

‘Broadcasting regulator Ofcom has said it was “extremely concerned” to hear complaints made about ITV and Sky News by the family of Nicola Bulley. Ofcom said it had written to both “to ask them to explain their actions”.’

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BBC News, 21st February 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

UK government outlines reforms to thirty-year-old cybercrime law – OUT-LAW.com

‘The UK government is proposing new powers for law enforcement agencies to tackle cybersecurity threats and online crimes, including the power to require data owners to preserve evidence pending a decision on whether a formal request for seizure of the data by an agency should be made to court.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 16th February 2023

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Nicola Bulley – latest: Lancashire police ‘sexist’ for revealing missing dog walker’s alcohol issues – The Independent

Posted February 17th, 2023 in alcohol abuse, disclosure, families, missing persons, news, police, privacy by sally

‘A former victims’ commissioner has criticised Lancashire Police for being “sexist” after they controversially revealed Nicola Bulley’s alcohol issues.’

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The Independent, 17th February 2023

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Why an exceptional view might constitute a nuisance against your neighbours – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 13th, 2023 in appeals, housing, injunctions, local government, news, nuisance, privacy, Supreme Court by sally

‘Anjali Patel looks at the lessons to be learned from the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Tate Modern viewing platform dispute.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 10th February 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Supreme Court ruling in Tate Modern privacy case could create ‘new front of litigation’ – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 6th, 2023 in appeals, damages, housing, injunctions, London, news, nuisance, privacy, Supreme Court by sally

‘The Supreme Court’s ruling in a nuisance dispute involving a viewing platform at the Tate Modern gallery in London could “open a new front of litigation”, according to two legal experts.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 6th February 2023

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com