Avoiding the pitfalls of WhatsApp – Local Government Lawyer

‘Matthew Alderton examines past disciplinary cases, regulatory action and recent judicial review challenges that show the various dangers that public bodies could face by allowing staff to communicate via WhatsApp and other social media.social media.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 16th September 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

The four new driving laws coming into force in UK this month – The Independent

Posted September 16th, 2022 in news, road safety, road traffic, road traffic offences, roads, telecommunications by tracey

‘Motorists have been urged to be familiar with new driving laws that have been rolled out this month, including stricter rules against the use of mobile phones.’

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The Independent, 16th September 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

When Code and RAMS Collide – Local Government Lawyer

‘James Nelson takes a look at the High Court’s decision in Cornerstone Telecommunications Infrastructure Limited v London Borough of Hackney.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 26th August 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

PwC fined nearly £1.8m over BT fraud audit failures – The Guardian

Posted August 10th, 2022 in auditors, fines, fraud, news, telecommunications by sally

‘PwC has been fined almost £1.8m for failing to properly scrutinise the accounts of telecoms company BT after a £500m accounting fraud had been uncovered at its Italian operation.’

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The Guardian, 8th August 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Rebekah Vardy loses ‘Wagatha Christie’ libel case against Coleen Rooney – The Guardian

Posted July 29th, 2022 in costs, defamation, evidence, media, news, telecommunications by sally

‘Rebekah Vardy has lost her “Wagatha Christie” libel case against Coleen Rooney, in a dramatic self-inflicted legal defeat that leaves her reputation destroyed.’

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The Guardian, 29th July 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

UK cybersecurity chiefs back plan to scan phones for child abuse images – The Guardian

‘Tech companies should move ahead with controversial technology that scans for child abuse imagery on users’ phones, the technical heads of GCHQ and the UK’s National Cybersecurity Centre have said. So-called “client-side scanning” would involve service providers such as Facebook or Apple building software that monitors communications for suspicious activity without needing to share the contents of messages with a centralised server.’

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The Guardian, 21st July 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

UK Supreme Court backs telecoms firms in Electronic Communications Code dispute – OUT-LAW.com

Posted June 24th, 2022 in appeals, news, Supreme Court, telecommunications by tracey

‘The UK Supreme Court has largely backed providers of telecommunications infrastructure in three cases to do with the extent of their rights under the revised Electronic Communications Code (“the Code”) to acquire additional Code rights over land that they do not own.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 23rd June 2022

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

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

‘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

‘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

‘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

‘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

‘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

‘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

‘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

‘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

‘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

‘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

‘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

‘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