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

Anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist found guilty of plotting to destroy 5G masts – The Independent

‘An anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist has been found guilty of plotting to destroy 5G masts after subscribing to an ideology that they were linked to the Covid-19 vaccine.’

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The Independent, 1st June 2023

Source: www.independent.co.uk

New blueprint to protect public from scammers – Home Office

‘Government launches new strategy to cut fraud, pursue fraudsters and empower the public.’

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Home Office, 3rd May 2023

Source: www.gov.uk

Clampdown on cold calls and mass texting technology announced in UK – The Guardian

Posted May 3rd, 2023 in fraud, news, telecommunications by tracey

‘Ministers have announced a clampdown on the use of cold calls to sell financial products and on technology which allows mass texting of numerous phones as part of a strategy to combat fraud, now the UK’s most common crime.’

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The Guardian, 2nd May 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Gambling white paper: Gamblers losing £1,000 a day to face checks – BBC News

Posted April 27th, 2023 in gambling, internet, news, parliamentary papers, telecommunications by sally

‘Gamblers who are losing £1,000 a day are expected to face checks as part of new, tougher gambling regulations.’

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BBC News, 27th April 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Cassandra Somers-Joce: Government by WhatsApp: Where are we now? – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘A new Cabinet Office policy has recently been published which provides guidance on the use of instant messaging technologies, such as WhatsApp, by government officials. The policy discourages the use of non-corporate communications channels (“NCCCs”), particularly when these platforms are accessed on personal devices. The new policy is a welcome development in the regulation of “government by WhatsApp,” and demonstrates better practice with respect to the public law duties which are applicable in this context, namely, the Public Records Act 1958, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the common law duty of candour.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 22nd April 2023

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Information Commissioner reprimands two police forces for recording 200,000 phone conversations without consent – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued Surrey Police and Sussex Police with reprimands under its new approach to enforcement against the public sector, instead of imposing a £1m monetary penalty, after finding that some officers at both police forces were using an app that automatically recorded phone conversations.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 19th April 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Rory Cochrane comments on Supreme Court’s latest telecommunications decision – Devereux Chambers

‘Last week [8 March], the Supreme Court handed down its decision in VIP Communications (In Liquidation) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] UKSC 10, upholding the Secretary of States’ appeal. The Supreme Court has confirmed that the Secretary of State can rely on section 5 of the Communications Act 2003 to direct Ofcom, on national security grounds, not to make regulations exempting commercial multi-user GSM gateways (COMUGs) from licensing.’

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Devereux Chambers, 8th March 2023

Source: www.devereuxchambers.co.uk

Manchester police officers shared ‘abhorrent’ group messages, IOPC finds – The Guardian

‘Six Greater Manchester police officers shared “abhorrent” racist, ableist and other offensive messages in a WhatsApp group, an investigation by the police watchdog has found.’

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The Guardian, 12th April 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

UK High Court decision paves the way on setting global FRAND royalty rate – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 17th, 2023 in intellectual property, licensing, news, patents, telecommunications by tracey

‘The High Court in London has issued its first global fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing decision since the UK Supreme Court’s landmark Unwired Planet ruling in 2020, confirming the approach taken by the judge in that case.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 16th March 2023

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

New Judgment: R (on the application of VIP Communications Ltd (In Liquidation)) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] UKSC 10 – UKSC Blog

‘This appeal raised an issue of statutory construction. It arises in the context of a type of equipment known as commercial multi-user GSM (Global Systems for Mobile Communications) gateway apparatus (“COMUGs”). GSM gateways are telecommunications equipment containing one or more SIM cards, as used in mobile phones. They enable phone calls and text messages from landlines to be routed directly on to mobile networks. When a call is routed through a GSM gateway, the only data transmitted over the network is the number and location of the SIM card in the GSM gateway. It does not transmit information such as the identity of the calling party and (in the case of a mobile phone) the user’s location, as would ordinarily be the case without a GSM gateway.’

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UKSC Blog, 8th March 2023

Source: ukscblog.com

Mobile and broadband prices: UK watchdog reviews inflation-busting rises – The Guardian

Posted February 10th, 2023 in consumer protection, inflation, news, ombudsmen, telecommunications by sally

‘The UK telecoms regulator has launched an investigation into the industry-wide practice of hitting broadband and mobile customers with inflation-busting price rises of up to 17% and could bring in tougher protections against hefty mid-contract increases.’

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The Guardian, 9th February 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Mobile phones and deprivations of liberty – Local Government Lawyer

‘Is depriving a person of their mobile phone depriving them of their liberty? That was the very 21st century question confronting a High Court judge recently. Whilst his analysis concerned the position of a 16 year old, his conclusions apply equally to adults, writes Alex Ruck Keene KC (Hon).’

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Local Government Lawyer, 31st January 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Solicitor can sue ex-firm for misuse of private WhatsApp messages – Legal Futures

‘A High Court master has rejected what he described as a law firm owner’s attempt to “stifle” a misuse of private information (MPI) claim by a junior solicitor he dismissed by applying to have her case struck out.’

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Legal Futures, 11th January 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

New Acts – legislation.gov.uk

Posted December 14th, 2022 in legislation, Northern Ireland, telecommunications by tracey

2022 c. 46 – Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022

2022 c. 45 – Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022

Source: www.legislation.gov.uk

Thousands of survivors to be protected from prison abusers – Ministry of Justice

‘Survivors will be better protected from domestic abusers who attempt to continue their campaign of terror from behind bars.’

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Ministry of Justice, 28th November 2022

Source: www.gov.uk

Painful lessons about the duty of candour (more on the unlawful seizure of migrants’ mobiles) – UK Human Rights Blog

‘In this first Judgment, the Court analysed powers granted by the Immigration Acts 1971 and 2016 and rejected the Defendant’s erroneous interpretation of the relevant statutory provisions. It then made consequential orders (also reported) including steps to publicise its ruling, given that over 400 phones, still held, could not be linked to any individual migrant.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 21st November 2022

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Driver who killed cycling policewoman Lynwen Thomas jailed – BBC News

Posted November 21st, 2022 in dangerous driving, homicide, imprisonment, news, sentencing, telecommunications by tracey

‘A van driver who killed a cycling off-duty policewoman while on his phone has been jailed for five years.’

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BBC News, 19th November 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Manchester youth leader jailed over ‘conspiracy’ texts denied permission to appeal – The Guardian

‘A youth leader who addressed MPs in parliament has been denied permission to appeal against the eight-year sentence he was given for sending text messages as part of a violent conspiracy.’

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The Guardian, 16th November 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com