On 1 February 2024, Steyn J dismissed the application to amend the Claim Form and struck out the existing claim in Trump v Orbis Business Intelligence Ltd [2024] EWHC 173 (KB). The Defendant was entitled to summary judgment. Donald Trump filed the claim against Orbis Business Intelligence, a British firm co-founded by Christopher Steele, a former MI6 intelligence officer.

Steele was responsible for overseeing the Russia desk at MI6 before retiring in 2009. Steele was paid by the Democrats to compile research on Trump’s ties to Russia. He produced a Dossier in 2016 that alleged Trump had engaged in sexual activity with prostitutes while visiting Russia, giving the Russian government material that could be used for blackmail.

The original claim had been brought under the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018 and UK GDPR. The Claimant sought to add the DPA 1998 to the claim after the Defendant highlighted that the Dossier was produced in 2016, before the enactment of the 2018 Act. Steyn J was not persuaded that the DPA 1998 claim which the Claimant sought permission to add arose out of the same, or substantially the same, facts (CPR 17.4) as were already in issue in the existing claim brought pursuant to the DPA 2018 and the UK GDPR [81]. The court held that the acts of data processing on which the claims for remedies were based were entirely different. The allegations of breach included the entirely new allegation that the processing of the Personal Data was not fair, and so breached the First Data Protection Principle. Further, the time periods which were the subject of the existing claim, and of the proposed new claim, were mutually exclusive. So even the claim in respect of storage and retention which spans the period before and after the enactment of the DPA 2018 necessarily concerns a different period of time in the existing claim compared to the proposed new claim [83-85]. Time, CBS, BBC, Pogo Was Right blog, ITVX, Guardian, Evening Standard and Reuters have more information.

Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe were named as the teenagers who murdered Brianna Ghey. The overturning of the anonymity order is covered by the Press Gazette here.

Data Privacy and Data Protection

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has announced a campaign called “Think. Check. Share.” to promote awareness about responsible data sharing to protect children.

A Freedom of Information Act disclosure by the ICO suggests that, over the last five years, 127 million data subjects may have been affected by personal data breaches “involving economic or financial data”, which were subsequently notified by data controllers to the ICO. Mishcon de Reya has more information here.

Ofcom has issued a reminder regarding its stakeholder consultation on the code of practice under the Online Safety Act. The consultation focuses on the size of the services covered and what uses are being targeted. The comment period closes 23 February 2024.

Newspapers Journalism and Regulation

In a House of Commons debate on the Government’s plan to scrap the last element of the Leveson reform scheme left on the statute books, Labour members voted for an amendment aimed at preventing the complete repeal of section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act. Section 40 provides incentives for the press to join a Leveson-standard regulator. Brian Cathcart argues this signals the Labour Party’s renewed support for Leveson-style press regulation, albeit it in a low-key fashion.

On 29 January 2024, the (children) Reporting Pilot expanded to a number of new courts across England and Wales, and a new Financial Remedy Reporting Pilot began. This will increase the potential for reporters to observe and write about the work of the family court by reducing the number of barriers they face. The Transparency Project has more information here.

The House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee’s report on Large Language Models has concluded it is not “fair for tech firms to use rightsholder data for commercial purposes without permission or compensation, and to gain vast financial rewards in the process”. The committee says the UK Government “cannot sit on its hands” for a decade waiting for sufficient copyright case law to emerge from legal fights between AI companies and news publishers. The Press Gazette has more information here.

Events

Bookings are now open for the 11KBW Information, Technology and Media Law Conference 2024 on Thursday 14 March 2024. The conference will be returning with a new format to incorporate the new and exciting developments in Information, Technology and Media Law.

IPSO

Statements in Open Court and Apologies

We are not aware of any statements in open court or apologies from the last week.

New Issued Cases

There was one data protection claim and one Norwich Pharmacal Order filed on the media and communication list last week.

Last Week in the Courts

On 29 January 2024, the consequentials hearing was heard following the judgment of The Duke of Sussex & Ors v MGN Ltd [2023] EWHC 3217 (Ch), handed down on 15 December 2023. The total costs sought are just under £2 million. The Claimants Michael Turner and Nikki Sanderson have sought permission to appeal the damages they were awarded. The Press Gazette has more information here.  Judgment was reserved.

On the same day, judgment was handed down in Blake & Anor v Fox [2024] EWHC 146 (KB). Collins Rice J ruled that the Claimants, Simon Blake, a gay rights activist, and entertainer Colin Seymour, who performs as Crystal, succeeded in their libel claim against actor and founder of the Reclaim Party Laurence Fox. Blake and Seymour also succeeded, together with writer and broadcaster Nicola Thorp, in defending the libel counterclaim brought against them by Fox. Blake and Seymour’s claims were brought over tweets in which Fox called each of them a “paedophile”. Fox sought to deny that the tweets had caused serious harm, and alleged that if they had, he was entitled to assert a defence of “reply to attack” qualified privilege because each had called him a “racist”.  Collins Rice J found that the allegations of being a paedophile had caused serious harm to both Blake and Seymour. Their reputations had been “pristine” until subjected to this most damaging, and untrue, of accusations. In relation to the counterclaim, Collins Rice J found that the tweets calling Fox racist had not caused him serious harm. There were multiple other probable causes of damage to Mr Fox’s reputation, including his own tweets and public comments on racial issues. Doughty Street has a summary of the judgment here. Inforrm, the Guardian cover the judgment and Seymour’s response to the ruling can be read here.

On Tuesday 30 January 2024, there was a hearing in the case of WFZ v BBC KB-2023-002567.

On Wednesday 31 January 2024, there was a hearing in the case of Fox v Yassin KB-2023-003051. This is the second libel action brought by the actor-turned-politician against a Twitter, now X, user who accused Fox of being racist. Collins Rice J ruled that a hearing should take place to decide whether the posts were statements of fact or opinion. Ireland Live has more information here.

As mentioned above, on 1 February 2024, judgment was handed down in Trump v Orbis Business Intelligence Ltd [2024] EWHC 173 (KB).

On the same day, the court heard the defendant’s application to strike out the case of Vince v Associated Newspapers Limited KB-2023-003818.

On 2 February 2024, there was a trial on preliminary issues in the case of Jeffrey Hinds v British Boxing Board of Control Limited QB-2020-003448. Boxing referee Hinds, who has officiated more than 1,250 contests in a career spanning more than 25 years, is suing the British Boxing Board of Control for libel over its handling of the outcome of a misconduct hearing, claiming it harmed his reputation. The Standard has more information here.

On the same day, there were dismissal, stay and s32.A applications in the case of Fenton v Pohl KB-2023-000827.

Media Law in Other Jurisdictions

Australia

Ben Roberts-Smith’s 10-day appeal against a decision dismissing his defamation case over reports in The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald starts on 5 February 2024. His lawyers will argue Federal Court Justice Anthony Besanko fell into legal error by finding the former corporal was complicit in the murder of four unarmed Afghan prisoners. The Sydney Morning Herald has more information here.

Network Ten has told the Federal Court that Bruce Lehrmann acted “audaciously” in bringing his defamation suit against the broadcaster and gave “no remotely credible account” of the night his former colleague Brittany Higgins has alleged he raped her in Parliament House. Judgment is still pending. The Sydney Morning Herald has published a summary of the written submissions published on 2 February 2024.

MP Moira Deeming’s defamation claim against Opposition Leader John Pesutto is scheduled for 10-days in September 2024. Deeming, who was expelled from the Liberal party room last year, is suing Pesutto over a series of media releases, press conferences and radio interviews he gave after she spoke at an anti-trans rights rally that was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis, who performed the Sieg Heil salute on the front steps of parliament in March 2023. The Guardian and Age has more information.

Europe

The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled law enforcements storing of biometric information for someone convicted of a crime indefinitely is against the spirit of the law. The court called for national legislation to require data controllers to periodically review stored data and decide whether it is still needed, and also give people the chance to have that data erased.

EuroNews has an article asking if the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act could increase mass surveillance systems. Read the article here.

France

Amazon has been fined €32m (£27m) in France for “excessive” surveillance of its workers, including measures the data watchdog found to be illegal. The BBC has more information here.

Northern Ireland

Media groups have launched a legal challenge to section 12 of the Justice (Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 which provides lifelong anonymity to sex offence suspects.  There was a report in the Belfast Telegraph.  We had a post about the provision here.

United States

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Colorado upheld the dismissal of a tort case brought against the operator of the website Letgo. The court held that the website was not negligent and did not commit fraud in facilitating the purported transaction that resulted in the murder of a married couple. The Evan Law Blog has more information here.

Research and Resources

Next Week in the Courts 

On 5 February 2024, there will be a stay application and judgment summary application in Aslani v Sobierajska QB-2020-004166.

On 6 February 2024, there will be an application in Ahluwalia v Verma & Ors KB-2023-001466.

 On 8 February 2024, there will be a trial of preliminary issues in Fry v Agilah-Hood KB-2023-002563.

On the same day, there will be a trial in Griffin v North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust QB-2022-002939.

On 9 February 2024, there will be a hearing in The Commissioners for His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs v Dr Robert Milton & Amy Louise Spencer KB-2023-004745.  On the same day Fancourt J will hand judgment following the consequentials hearing in Duke of Sussex v MGN.

Reserved Judgments

Nagi v Sinniah Santhiramoulesan, heard 22 and 23 January 2024 (Collins Rice J)

Sinton v Maybourne Hotels Limited, heard 19 and 20 December 2023 (Chamberlain J)

Dyson v Channel 4, heard 15 December 2023 (HHJ Lewis)

Pacini v Dow Jones, heard 13 December 2023 (HHJ Parkes KC)

Amersi v BBC, heard 8 December 2023 (HHJ Lewis)

Wilson v Mendelsohn and others, heard 4 to 8 December 2023 (HHJ Parkes KC)

Mueen-Uddin v Secretary of State for the Home Department, heard 1 and 2 November 2023 (UK Supreme Court).

George v Cannell and another, heard 17-18 October 2023 (UK Supreme Court)

Harcombe v Associated Newspapers, heard 3 to 7 and 10 to 11 July 2023 (Nicklin J)

YSL v Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, heard 14-15 June 2023 (Julian Knowles J)

MBR Acres v FREE THE MBR BEAGLES, heard 24-28 April 2023, 2-5, 9, 11-12, 15, 17-18, 22-23 May 2023 (Nicklin J)

This Round Up was compiled by Colette Allen who is the host of Newscast on Dr Thomas Bennett and Professor Paul Wragg’s The Media Law Podcast (@MediaLawPodcast).