Five “Just Stop Oil” protestors, Roger Hallam, Daniel Shaw, Louise Lancaster, Lucia Whittaker De Abreu and Cressida Gethin have been sentenced to five years’ (Hallam) and four years’ (others) imprisonment for their role in planning a protest that brought part of the M25 to a standstill in November 2022.

During the proceedings, Hallam encouraged supporters to go to the court with signs saying: “Juries have a right to hear the whole truth.” On 2 July 2024, some arrived with placards stating: “Jurors have an absolute right to acquit a defendant according to their conscience.” As a result the judge, apparently concerned that this could affect the jury’s decisions, ordered the arrests of 11 protesters for contempt of court. Judge Hehir confirmed that he has dropped the charges.

There is a growing chorus of voices condemning the length of these sentences for planning non-violent protests, including Michel Forst, the UN special rapporteur for environmental defenders. The Metropolitan Police has welcomed the sentences and said it hopes it acts as a deterrent to those who intend to cause disproportionate disruption to Londoners. The BBC, euronews, Conversation, Sky News and Independent are some of the many outlets to cover the sentencing.

US journalist Evan Gershkovich has been found guilty of espionage by a Russian court and sentenced to 16 years in a high-security penal colony. The trial has been widely decried as a “sham”. President Biden said Mr Gershkovich has “committed no crime” and was “targeted by the Russian government because he is a journalist and an American.” Prime Minister Kier Starmer described his sentence as “despicable.” The BBC, Al Jazeera, and NCB News are just some of the outlets covering the conviction.

The pilot scheme allowing journalists to report on cases at family courts in England and Wales has been expanded to include private law. Private family disputes may now be reported on at the nineteen courts involved in the pilot scheme, provided the identities of those involved are kept strictly anonymous. The Press Gazette has more information here.

Internet and Social Media

Clean Up The Internet has a blog post arguing why online safety in general, and fake and anonymous accounts in particular, should feature as priority on Sir Kier Stamer’s to-do list.

Data Privacy and Data Protection

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued the London Borough of Hackney with a reprimand following a cyber-attack in 2020 that led to hackers gaining access to and encrypting 440,000 files, affecting at least 280,000 residents and other individuals including staff.

Surveillance

Privacy International has a blog post explaining the unregulated and increasingly prevalent use of social media monitoring by governments and companies in the UK.

The National Union of Journalists has been given the green light to take part in a tribunal hearing over allegations of covert surveillance against two investigative reporters in Northern Ireland by the police. The Investigatory Powers Tribunal is due to hold a four-day hearing over the claims brought by Northern Ireland-based filmmakers Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney in October 2024. The Press Gazette has more information here.

Newspapers Journalism and Regulation

The Labour Government has set out its legislative agenda in the King’s Speech, apparently softening its commitments to introduce legislation to regulate AI. The Press Gazette explains why this does not augur well for a rapid resolution to the AI/IP problem.

The Media Reform Coalition has a guest post from Extinction Rebellion that unpicks the BBC’s dismissal of the Restore Nature Now march, and reflects on the past foreteen years of “failed climate coverage”, arguing the Corporation platforms Climate deniers and promotes “both-sideism” on climate science.

 Events 

The Information Commissioner’s Office is holding the Data Protection Practitioners Conference on Tuesday 8 October 2024, online. The event will include keynote speakers, workshops and panels. Register for free here.

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 defamation (libel and slander) claim filed on the media and communications list last week.

Last Week in the Courts

On Monday 15 July 2024, Lewis J handed down judgment in the case of Vince v Associated Newspapers [2024] EWHC 1806 (KB). The Claimant is a well-known green energy industrialist and environmental activist who has made substantial financial donations to the Green Party and the Labour Party. The claim related to an article published in the Daily Mail on 9 June 2023, which reported that the Labour Party had returned a £100,000 donation made by Davide Serra, who was said to be “a high-flying City financier accused of sex harassment”. It also said that the claimant had donated £1.5m to the Labour Party, but then caused the Party embarrassment by joining an “eco-protest” in London, which had blocked traffic around Parliament Square. Vince acknowledged that upon reading the text of the Article, the ordinary reader would appreciate very quickly that he was not the person being accused of sexual harassment. However, he plead a meaning by way of innuendo. Lewis J found that the claim was bound to fail, even if Vince could establish an innuendo claim, because of the principle in Charleston; the headline, photos and caption must be read together with the article. Taken together, it was agreed that the article was not defamatory of the claimant at common law [41]. The Guardian has more information here. The Press Gazette also reports the judgment.

On the same day there was a consequentials hearing before Hill J in the case of Ashraful Khokan v Jawad KB-2022-004473 and a hearing in the case of Department For Health & Social Care v The Good Law project.

On Tuesday 16 July 2024, there was a case management conference in the MTVIL litigation, before Fancourt J.  A trial is listed for January 2025. The Press Gazette has more information here. On the same day there was a hearing in the case of AKA v LB Haringey.

On Wednesday 17 July 2024, there was a hearing in the case of Jones Nickolds v Pearce.

On Thursday 18 July 2024, there were hearings in the cases of Pattinson v Winsor and Patrick Earaut v Nicholas Cheyney KB-2023-004154.

On the same day, judgment was handed down by Aiden Eardley KC in RBT v YLA [2024] EWHC 1855 (KB). Protection of reputation was an aspect of, but not the main reason for, the application for an injunction. The principal purpose was to prevent the Defendant from threatening physical violence, engaging in covert recording and surveillance, removing documents and emails from the Claimant’ Business without authority, and, incidentally, threats to publish defamatory material [59]. The threshold for an injunction was met and the Defendant is to restrain from communications until the claim can be tried.

On Friday 19 July 2024, there was hearing in the case of Sledziewski & Other v Persons Unknown.

On the same day, judgment was handed down by Hill J in Khokan v Nirjhor (Re Costs) [2024] EWHC 1873 (KB). Hill J has accepted that the claim shared some of the features of a SLAPP [14], but was not persuaded that the Claimant’s conduct of the claim justifies an order that he pay the entirety of the Defendant’s costs on an indemnity basis [57].

On the same day, judgment on meaning was handed down in Hemming v Poulton [2024] EWHC 1860 (KB) by Deputy Judge Alegre. Richard Hemming is a former MP who is currently a businessman.  The Defendant is Sonia Poulton, a freelance journalist.  The publications were found to make defamatory allegations of fact.

Media Law in Other Jurisdictions

Canada

On 15 July 2024, the British Columbia Supreme Court threw out retired mining tycoon Scott Cousens’s defamation lawsuit against charity watchdog Vivian Krause, Cousens v Krause, 2024 BCSC 1265 (CanLII). Cousens sued Krause over three letters she published on her Fair Questions blog in 2021. Krause cast doubt over Cousens’ $23 million in donations to the 2013-opened Fortius Sport Centre in Burnaby. Cousens laid claim to the single, largest philanthropic gift in Canadian sports history. Held, Cousens failed to demonstrate that Krause’s letters were not protected by the defences of justification and fair comment. The Court also rejected Cousens’ contention that Krause acted with malice.

Europe

On 18 July 2024, the European Supervisory Authorities published the final versions of the second batch of their draft regulatory technical standards and implementing technical standards, developed under the Digital Operational Resilience Act, as well as two sets of Guidelines. DLA Piper provides a summary here.

Ireland

The Defence (Amendment) Act 2024 has become law. Section 11 of the 2024 Act prevents members from the Permanent Defence Force from (i) making, without prior authorisation, a public statement or comment, or (ii) attending a protest, in relation to a political matter or matter of Government policy; as well as (iii) canvassing for any political organisation or (iv) addressing a meeting of a political organisation. Cearta.ie has more information on how the new law will affect political speech here and here.

Nigeria

The Nigerian Federal Government has fined the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, Meta Platforms Inc., the sum of $220m for an unauthorised appropriation of personal data without user consent, discriminatory practices against Nigerian users, and the abuse of Meta’s dominant market position. Meta has announced it will appeal.

Nigeria has reverted to its old national anthem written and composed in 1959 (pre-independence) and titled “Nigeria, We Hail Thee,” prompting more backlash than praise concerning the necessity, timing, and the implication of this change for Nigeria. IPKat has a post exploring the copyright issues at play.

United States

The Centre for Internet and Society has a blog post on social media and political violence in response to the recent assassination attempt against Republican candidate Donald Trump.

The Detroit Police Department recently agreed to adopt strict limits on its officers’ use of face recognition technology as part of a settlement in a lawsuit brought by a victim of this faulty technology. Robert Williams, a Black resident of a Detroit suburb, filed suit against the Detroit Police Department after officers arrested him at his home in front of his wife, daughters, and neighbours for a crime he did not commit. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has more information here.

Research and Resources

Next Week in the Courts 

On Monday 22 July, the trial will begin in Hibbert v Hall, scheduled for four days. On the same day, the trial in Ahmed v Akbar will continue.

On Tuesday 23 July, there will be a trial of preliminary issues in Paisley v Lineham.

On Wednesday 24 July, there will be an application by the Defendant in Sully & others v Mazur.

On Friday 26 July 2024, there will be an injunction application in Sully v Mazur.

Reserved Judgments

Dowding v The Character Group PLC 19 and 20 June 2024 (Richard Spearman KC)

Codnor v Thorpe,  17 June 2024 (Richard Spearman KC).

Hawrami v Journalism Development Network Inc and others, 17 June 2024 (Steyn 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).