While the Murdoch organisation long ago abandoned the pretence that phone-hacking was not rife at the now-defunct News of the World, it has always denied that journalists at its surviving tabloid, the Sun, hacked people’s phones. A landmark case has now changed the picture. Continue reading
The International Forum for Responsible Media Blog
Month: December 2021 (Page 2 of 3)
It has long been accepted that the eye-watering costs of English libel litigation present a double ‘chill.’ On the one hand, the fear of having to defend a libel action means that many public interest news stories are spiked or watered down before publication. Meanwhile, when an ordinary person discovers that a lie has been published about them in a national newspaper, the cost of seeking redress is prohibitive. Bringing or defending a claim immediately puts a party on the hook for tens of thousands of pounds. If the case goes to trial then you risk paying a six-figure sum. Continue reading
On 8 and 9 December 2021, the settlement of 15 phone hacking claims against News Group Newspapers was announced in a series of statements in open court. Most attention was given to the statement read by actress Sienna Miller, which made a number of allegations against The Sun for what was described as “prolonged” and “substantial” phone hacking, and leaking news that Ms Miller was pregnant. Continue reading
Twitter recently announced that it will no longer allow “the sharing of private media, such as images or videos of private individuals without their consent”. The move takes effect through an expansion of the social media platform’s private information and media policy. Continue reading
Columbia Global Freedom of Expression seeks to contribute to the development of an integrated and progressive jurisprudence and understanding on freedom of expression and information around the world. It maintains an extensive database of international case law. This is its newsletter dealing with recent developments in the field. Continue reading
On 8 and 9 December 2021 the settlement of a 15 phone hacking claims against News Group Newspapers were announced. A series of statements in open court were read before Fancourt J, culminating in a high profile and hard hitting unilateral statement in open court by Sienna Miller. Continue reading
The judgment issued by the First Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights(ECHR) on 25 November 2021 in case 77419/16 (Biancardi v Italy) increases the scope of the ‘right to be forgotten’. It holds that de-indexing is directly applicable to online publications hosting an article and not only to search engines allowing its retrieval. Continue reading
On September 8, 2021, the High Court delivered the landmark Voller decision, dismissing appeals by media outlets against the decision of the New South Wales Supreme Court which held that the news media and users of social media and other internet platforms may be held liable for content posted by others to their pages. Continue reading
Facebook’s approach to users’ data has just been dealt a major blow from the European court of justice (ECJ). In an answer to a question from Germany’s highest court, the ECJ’s advocate general – whose opinion is not binding but is generally followed by the court – has made an essential clarification to Europe’s data protection law to confirm that consumer associations can bring actions on behalf of individuals. Continue reading
The Duchess of Sussex has won the latest round of her privacy and copyright claim against the Mail on Sunday, with a unanimous judgment of the Court of Appeal upholding the decision of the High Court ([2021] EWCA Civ 1810). The matter now returns to the High Court for compensation to be determined. Continue reading
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