The Media and Communications List has become a Specialist List, with the significant implementation of Civil Procedure Rule 53 along with a new Practice Direction and Pre-Action Protocol.
INFORRM had a Practice Note on these key procedural changes. From 1 October 2019 all data protection claims must now be issued in the Media Communications List of the High Court. The Panopticon Blog has coverage as has INFORRM from Iain Wilson and Elisabeth Mason.
Marriot Hotels fine under the GDPR has drawn attention from the Mishcon de Reya Data Matters Blog.
Apple has released a press release on improving Siri’s privacy protections. The Privacy Perspective blog has a post dealing with the privacy concerns surrounding the use of voice recognition software in a privacy perspective post.
The Privacy Lawyer has an insightful analysis of privacy law class actions and their lack of success in the courts, highlighting that this seems to be due to a lack of compensable damages.
A post from the Privacy Perspective considers the privacy implications of the police using facial recognition software. Brigit Schippers has also written a post on facial recognition outling ten reasons why to be worried about the technology. The Administrative Court will give judgment in the facial recognition case of The Queen (on the application of Bridges) v Chief Constable of South Wales Police on 4 September 2019.
Internet and Social Media
PwC and Data Protection Report have considered latest CJEU rulings on the operation of third party plugins, software tools which render website operates as joint data controllers. PwC has also highlighted the conundrum with collecting personal data- its value and high compliance demands.
With reposting content being a commonplace mechanism in social media the Social Media Law Bulletin has considered the legal implications of doing so.
Zac Rogers has tackled the matter of regulating Facebook, Google and Amazon in an INFORRM post.
Data Privacy and Data Protection
Major players in internet data commoditisation such as Google and Alibaba have partnered to form the Confidential Computing Consortium, the Mobile Marketing Magazine Reports.
The LSE Media Policy Project has reviewed the matter fair treatment of children’s personal data in a recent blog post.
The Privacy Perspective has covered the use and processing of voice command data by Amazon Alexa. and has also analysed the privacy implications of the police using facial recognition software.
Lexology has posted a data protection update for August 2019. The data protection report has a similar update on the CCPA.
Euronews has an interesting article on the accountability of Interpol to EU data protection laws.
ICO
The ICO has changed guidance on time limits in Subject Access Requests, Mischon de Reya’s Data Matters Blog comments.
Increasing concerns over Facebook launching its cryptocurrency Libra have culminated with the ICO joining international signatories in raising data protection concerns. The Data Protection Report has coverage.
The ICO has blogged on data minimisation and privacy-preserving techniques in AI systems.
Surveillance
Mass PrivateI has covered the surveillance regimes in China and America.
Newspapers, Journalism and Regulation
The Information Law and Policy Centre has analysed whether lifelong anonymity orders are still fit for purpose in the social media era.
In a recent post the Transparency Project Blog has highlighted sensationalist and misleading headlines arising from family law court cases in “an example of why headlines matter”.
IPSO
In an INFORRM post Brian Cathcart has criticised IPSO for its recent handling of complaints and systematic regulatory non-compliance.
IPSO has posted on its approach to regulating user generated content.
IPSO has a guest blog on reporting on Sikhism.
Rulings
IPSO has issued six rulings:
- 04324-19 Macdonald v Evening Telegraph (Dundee), 2 Privacy (2018), No breach – after investigation
- 04186-19 Mmono v Manchester Evening News, 1 Accuracy (2018), Breach – sanction: publication of adjudication
- 03509-19 McEleny v The Times, 1 Accuracy (2018), No breach – after investigation
- 04225-19 Versi v The Sun, 1 Accuracy (2018), Breach – sanction: publication of correction
- 02706-19 Stroud v express.co.uk, 1 Accuracy (2018), No breach – after investigation
- 04544-19 Collinson v The Chronicle (Newcastle), 1 Accuracy (2018), 4 Intrusion into grief or shock (2018), No breach – after investigation
Australia
In the case of Rush v Nationwide News Pty (No.9) [2019] FCA 1383 Wigney J dismissed an application by Geoffrey Rush for a permanent injunction to restrain the Daily Telegraph from republishing defamatory imputations. The Judge held that Mr Rush had failed to demonstrate a real or appreciable risk that the defamatory imputations would be repeated.
In the case of Bellino v Queensland Newspapers Pty Ltd [2019] FCA 1380 Flick J dismissed a libel action. He held that the words complained of bore the imputations that the applicant was “a prominent owner of a brothel”; “the prominent owner of an illegal casino”; and “a criminal” but that these imputations were substantially true.
In an INFORRM post Anthony Forsyth has considered the Isreal Folau termination case and its potential impact on free speech.
With Austrlia’s consumer protection regulator recommending major changes to consumer protection and privacy laws Katharine Kemp considers how to safeguard consumer privacy in an INFORRM post.
Mark Pearson has analysed new metadata laws which purport to put confidential interviews at risk.
The Press Gazette has noted that the police force in Australia has been issued with guidance to consider the importance of maintaining free press when investigating leaks.
Canada
Canadian Advertising and Marketing Law has covered the federal anti-spam legislation, highlighting common compliance errors.
Michael Geist has highlighted the increasing debate around the imposition of a “Netflix Tax” in the 2019 Elections.
Greece
The Greek Parliament has passed a Bill incorporating the GDPR into national law.
The Greek data protection authority has issued its first fine to PriceWaterhouse Coopers, Lexology reports.
Hungary
India
The Asian Age has an interesting article covering the approval process and legislative changes engendered by the Data Protection Bill.
Ireland
The Irish Data Protection Commission has criticised the implementation of a Public Services Card in a recent report, the Global Government Forum reports.
The Netherlands
The Dutch Data Protection Authority has cited Microsoft Windows as potentially breaching privacy rules.
United States
Stanford’s Cyberlaw Blog has considered how the FTC can help safeguard privacy rights with legislative mandates from Congress.
Research and Resources
Internet and Social Media
- The U.K. Online Harms White Paper and the Internet’s Cable-ized Future, Eric Goldman, Santa Clara University – School of Law
- Political Effects of the Internet and Social Media, Ekaterina Zhuravskaya, Maria Petrovaand Ruben Enikolopov, Paris School of Economics (PSE), Institute for Political Economy and Governance, Barcelona and Institute of Political Economy and Governance
- Populism and Polarization in Social Media Without Fake News: The Vicious Circle of Biases, Beliefs and Network Homophily, Zaruhi Hakobyanand Christos Koulovatianos, National Research University Higher School of Economics and Department of Finance, University of Luxembourg
Surveillance
- Smart-city Technologies, Government Surveillance and Privacy: Assessing the Potential for Chilling Effects and Existing Safeguards in the ECHR, Arthur PB Laudrain, University of Oxford
- Surveillance, Privacy and Public Space in the Stratumseind Living Lab: The Smart City Debate, beyond Data, Maša Galič, Tilburg University – Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society
Data Protection and Data Privacy
- EU-UK Data Flows, Brexit and No-Deal: Adequacy or Disarray? Oliver Pateland Nathan Lea, UCL European Institute and University College London – Institute for Health Informatics
- The Data Protection Implications of a ‘No-Deal Brexit’, Douwe Korff, Oxford Martin School – Global Cyber Capacity Centre
- Privacy’s Constitutional Moment, Neil M. Richardsand Woodrow Hartzog, Washington University School of Law and Northeastern University School of Law and Khoury College of Computer and Information Sciences
- Explanation < Justification: GDPR and the Perils of Privacy, Talia B. Gillisand Joshua Simons, Harvard University, Law School and Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences
- Transparency is the New Privacy: Blockchain’s Challenge for the Fourth Amendment, Paul Belonick, University of California Hastings College of the Law
- Global Data Privacy 2019: DPAs, PEAs, and their Networks, Graham Greenleaf, University of New South Wales, Faculty of Law
- Catalyzing Privacy Law, Anupam Chander, Margot E. Kaminskiand William McGeveran, University of California, Davis – School of Law, University of Colorado Law School and University of Minnesota Law School
- Data Management Law for the 2020s: The Lost Origins and the New Needs, Przemysław Pałka, Yale Law School Center for Private Law
- Balancing Interests in the EU Data Ecosystem, N Cansin Karga Giritli, University of Glasgow, School of Law
- An Introduction to Data Property Ownership Rights and Data Protection Responsibilities, Rob Frieden, Pennsylvania State University – Dickinson School of Law
Defamation
- Adam Smith on Reputation, Commutative Justice, and Defamation Laws, Mark Bonicaand Daniel B. Klein
- Pleading Actual Malice in Defamation Actions After Twiqbal: A Circuit Survey, Judy M. Cornett, University of Tennessee College of Law
This Round Up was compiled by Suneet Sharma, a junior legal professional with a particular interest and experience in media law.
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