- On 5 August 2014, judgment was handed down in Hong Kong in the case of Yeung v Google ([2014] HKCFI 1404). In a comprehensive analysis of the issues of internet and search engine publication, Deputy Judge Marlene Ng upheld an order granting the plaintiff leave to serve Google out of the jurisdiction. She held that the was a good arguable case that Google Inc was the publisher of the words on “auto-complete” linking the plaintiff to organised crime. Reports of the decision included Reuters, the Independent plus another 196 results on Google News.
- On Tuesday 6 August 2014, proceedings against Andy Coulson on three charges of perjury began in the High Court of Justiciary in Glasgow. No plea was entered. The trial is not expected to begin before January 2015.
- On Thursday 7 August 2104, the first Operation Tuleta prosecution, of former Sun journalist Ben Ashford, began at the Old Bailey. Mr Ashford is accused of two offences arising out of the alleged theft of a mobile phone. There were reports by on the trial from James Doleman on the Drum, “Ex-Sun journalist on trial over ‘stolen’ mobile phone”, “Sun reporter trawled stolen phone for ‘saucy messages’ court old”, “Senior Sun staff ‘in the loop’ over stolen phone court told”. The trial will continue this week.
- The Information Commissioner’s Office Blog has an “Update on our response to the European Google Judgment”. It mentions that there have not, so far, been many complaints to the ICO, but the numbers are expected to increase. The blog also notes the ICO’s disappointment with the recent report of the House of Lords European Union Committee on the ‘right to be forgotten’. Lillian Edwards’ panGloss blog, has a post on “Three myths that need nailed about the right to forgotten (and one question)”.
- A couple of new links on our home page
- The Hoot – Watching the Media in the Sub-Continent – a large quantity of material about the media in India. Well worth a visit.
- Veritas – Zimbabwe – legal and government information (including Court judgments). Including the important judgments in Chimakure v A-G of Zimbabwe (30 October 2013 and 22 July 2014) on the incompatibility of criminal libel and freedom of expression.
- Finally, we note three interesting academic papers on the topics of data protection, image rights and privacy:
- “From the Scylla of Restriction to the Charybdis of License? Exploring the Present and Future Scope of the ʻSpecial Purposesʼ Freedom of Expression Shield in European Data Protection”, David Erdos, SSRN
- “The Right of Publicity and the Search for Principle”, Val Joseph Corbett, SSRN
- “Beyond Information: Physical Privacy in English Law [pdf]” Nicola Moreham,(2014) 73(2) Cambridge Law Journal, 350-377.
The top 5 posts on Inforrm this week were
- Facebook’s Community Standards: Severed heads are okay, but nipples are bad (unless accompanied by a baby) – Gideon Benaim and Jon Oakley
- Law and Media Round Up – 4 August 2014
- Case Law: PNM v Times Newspapers, Open justice and reporting information about a suspect – Hugh Tomlinson QC
- The Sun just keeps getting it wrong on human rights – Adam Wagner
- Case Law: R (T) v Secretary of State for the Home Department, The right for (criminal records) to be forgotten – Dominic Crossley and Clarissa Ferguson