Category: telecommunications

Apple faces £768m collective action for ‘throttling’ iPhones – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted June 17th, 2022 in class actions, competition, consumer protection, news, telecommunications by tracey

‘Technology giant Apple is facing a £768m collective action over claims it secretly “throttled” iPhones with software updates to disguise overloaded batteries.
Consumer champion Justin Gutmann, formerly of Citizens Advice, is bringing the case on behalf of around 25 million people against Apple for allegedly abusing its market dominance by concealing a ‘power management tool’ in updates which reduced iPhones’ performance by up to 58%.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 16th June 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Liverpool gangland enforcer charged £10k to blind victim – BBC News

Posted June 17th, 2022 in firearms, gangs, grievous bodily harm, imprisonment, news, sentencing, telecommunications by tracey

‘A gangland enforcer who threw acid in a man’s face and plotted to blind others under the orders of an underworld crime boss has been jailed for life.’

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BBC News, 16th June 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

New rules to protect sex assault victims’ privacy – BBC News

Posted May 27th, 2022 in Crown Prosecution Service, disclosure, news, police, privacy, sexual offences, telecommunications, victims by sally

‘Victims of sexual offences have been promised less invasion into their private lives under changes to how evidence is gathered for trials.’

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BBC News, 26th May 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Court of Appeal backs decision to make collective action opt-out – Legal Futures

Posted May 9th, 2022 in appeals, class actions, competition, consumer protection, news, telecommunications, third parties by tracey

‘The difficulty of people signing up to a collective action and the availability of third-party funding were legitimate factors to take into account in making it opt-out, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

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Legal Futures, 9th May 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Acoustic shock claim back on after ‘fundamental error’ – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted May 6th, 2022 in accidents, appeals, damages, employment, expert witnesses, news, noise, personal injuries, setting aside, telecommunications by tracey

‘The Court of Appeal has revived an acoustic shock claim after a finding that the defendant’s evidence was incorrect and the judge was considering the wrong issue.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 5th May 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

UK watchdog will have power to impose huge fines on big tech firms – The Guardian

Posted May 6th, 2022 in bills, codes of practice, consumer protection, data protection, fines, internet, news, ombudsmen, telecommunications by tracey

‘A new tech watchdog will be given the power to impose multibillion-pound fines on major firms such as Google and Facebook if they breach rules designed to protect consumers and businesses.’

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The Guardian, 5th May 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Actor Ricky Tomlinson opposing bid to have ‘hacking’ claim thrown out of court – The Independent

Posted April 29th, 2022 in damages, disclosure, interception, media, news, privacy, striking out, summary judgments, telecommunications by tracey

‘Actor Ricky Tomlinson has described an attempt by a newspaper publisher to have his claim against it over unlawful information gathering thrown out of court as “outrageous and disgusting”.’

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The Independent, 28th April 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Former Lib Dem MP and campaigner formally settles phone hacking claim – The Independent

Posted April 29th, 2022 in damages, interception, media, news, parliament, political parties, privacy, telecommunications by tracey

‘Dr Evan Harris accepted “substantial damages” from NGN, publisher of the now-defunct News of the World and The Sun, to settle his claim for unlawful information gathering.’

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The Independent, 28th April 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘Insufficient evidence’ to prosecute two people suspected of leaking CCTV of Matt Hancock kiss – The Independent

Posted April 14th, 2022 in closed circuit television, coronavirus, data protection, government departments, media, news, telecommunications by tracey

‘No-one will be prosecuted over the leaking of CCTV footage that showed former health secretary Matt Hancock kissing his aide while coronavirus social distancing guidelines were in place.’

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The Independent, 13th April 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

R (HM) v Secretary of State for the Home Department – Blackstone Chambers

Posted April 8th, 2022 in chambers articles, data protection, government departments, immigration, news, privacy, telecommunications by sally

‘The Divisional Court (Lord Justice Edis and Mr Justice Lane) have handed down an important judgment concerning the legality of the Government’s policy to search, seize and retain data from the mobile phones of migrants arriving by small boat.’

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Blackstone Chambers, 25th March 2022

Source: www.blackstonechambers.com

Changes to the Law on Using a Mobile Phone While Driving – 4 King’s Bench Walk

Posted April 6th, 2022 in chambers articles, dangerous driving, news, road safety, telecommunications by sally

‘In 2003 the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment) Regulations created a specific offence of using a mobile phone while driving. Subsection 110(6)(a) of those Regulations states that a mobile telephone is to be treated as hand-held ‘if it is, or must be, held at some point during the course of making or receiving a call or performing any other interactive communication function’.’

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4 King's Bench Walk, 25th March 2022

Source: www.4kbw.co.uk

Dance teacher who ‘bombarded’ boy, 13, with sexual Whatsapp messages after he asked her to stop is spared jail – The Independent

Posted April 6th, 2022 in abuse of position of trust, children, news, sentencing, sexual offences, suspended sentences, teachers, telecommunications by sally

‘A married dance teacher who “bombarded” a 13-year-old boy with sexual messages has been spared jail.’

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The Independent, 5th April 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

New Highway Code rules for phone usage come into force – everything you need to know – The Independent

Posted March 30th, 2022 in codes of practice, dangerous driving, fines, news, road safety, telecommunications by sally

‘Drivers could face a fine for just touching a mobile phone while behind the wheel – and the same goes for passengers in certain circumstances under tough new rules.’

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The Independent, 29th March 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

UK High Court rules blanket seizure of asylum seekers’ phones breached Article 8 ECHR – EIN Blog

Posted March 28th, 2022 in asylum, data protection, government departments, human rights, immigration, judicial review, news, privacy, telecommunications by tracey

‘On 25 March 2022, the UK High Court ruled that the Home Office acted unlawfully and breached human rights and data protection laws by operating a secret, blanket policy of seizing, retaining and extracting data from the mobile phones of asylum seekers arriving by small boat to UK shores between April and November 2020.’

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EIN Blog, 25th March 2022

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Mobile loophole for gaming drivers is closed – BBC News

Posted March 25th, 2022 in consultations, dangerous driving, fines, government departments, news, road safety, road traffic offences, statistics, telecommunications by tracey

‘A loophole allowing drivers to escape punishment for handheld phone use if they are taking a photo or playing a game has closed in Great Britain.’

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BBC News, 25th March 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

BT asks Court of Appeal to amend second-ever CPO – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted March 16th, 2022 in appeals, class actions, compensation, news, telecommunications by tracey

‘Telecoms giant BT today asked the Court of Appeal to amend the second collective proceedings order (CPO) granted in the UK in order to make it an ‘opt-in’ claim.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 15th March 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Companies fined for marketing calls targeting elderly – BBC News

Posted March 16th, 2022 in consumer protection, elderly, fines, insurance, news, ombudsmen, telecommunications by tracey

‘Five companies who made thousands of unwanted marketing calls to “older, vulnerable people” must pay fines totalling £405,000.’

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BBC News, 16th March 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Two convicted in first murder plot case involving EncroChat messaging system – The Guardian

Posted March 15th, 2022 in computer programs, conspiracy, murder, news, telecommunications by tracey

‘Two men who planned a revenge shooting have been convicted at the Old Bailey in the first murder plot case involving the use of the encrypted messaging system EncroChat.’

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The Guardian, 14th March 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

The director of an English mobile phone company, now in liquidation, has been held liable for both fraudulent trading and misfeasance for participation in missing trader intra-community (MTIC) VAT fraud. – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 4th, 2022 in company directors, company law, fraud, misfeasance, news, telecommunications, VAT, winding up by tracey

‘The High Court upheld an application made by the liquidator of JD Group Ltd (“the company”) claiming that Deepak Bhatia, the company director, was engaged in fraudulent trading owing to knowledge that the company was associated with VAT fraud. Judge Agnello QC found that the manner in which the respective transactions were carried out provided clear evidence of this knowledge and that Bhatia’s conduct was dishonest in accordance with the objective standards of ordinary decent people.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 3rd March 2022

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Mirror publisher makes £2m interim payment in ‘phone hacking’ litigation – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 7th, 2022 in costs, damages, interception, media, news, privacy, telecommunications by tracey

‘The publisher of the Daily Mirror and the People has agreed to make an interim payment of just over £2m on account of costs racked up in the most recent ongoing “phone hacking” litigation, which has seen nearly 600 claims settled so far.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 4th February 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk