Former footballer, Joey Barton has made a statement in open court, in which he apologised for suggesting that Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine had a sexual interest in children in a series of online posts and stated that he recognised the allegations were untrue.

In settlement of the claim, Barton agreed to pay £75,000 in damages and legal costs, in addition to a further £35,000 for posts published after Vine issued his claim, after the High Court ruled that the posts were defamatory in May. However, before the High Court hearing on Friday 11 October, Barton posted another video on X, depicting Vine wearing a pair of heeled shoes and the caption, “Perfectly normal. Nothing to see here.” Vine’s barrister stated that posting the videos “negates the vindication of a statement” and Steyn J warned Barton about the risk of contempt of court should he breach the undertakings he had given not to harass Vine. The Independent, Metro, London Evening Standard, The Daily Mail, ITVX and RTE covered the story.

The far-right news outlet, The Gateway Pundit has settled a defamation lawsuit with two election workers from Georgia, who it falsely accused of misconduct during the 2020 election in almost 20 articles on its website. The Gateway Pundit published articles which amplified the untrue claim that Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss committed fraud by counting illegal ballots after voting had ended. Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, was ordered to pay Freeman and Moss nearly $150m after losing a libel case in relation to the accusations of voter fraud. The Guardian, AP News, USA Today, LA Times and The New Republic reported on the settlement.

On Tuesday 8 October 2024, the High Court ruled that the costs order in the Wagatha libel trial should not be reduced. Following her unsuccessful libel claim, Rebekah Vardy was ordered to pay 90% of Coleen Rooney’s legal costs, which amounted to £1.8 million, after an original estimate of £540,000. Vardy argued that Rooney had deliberately understated her legal costs, however Judge Gordon-Saker found that “on balance and, I have to say, only just” Rooney’s legal team had not committed misconduct. The BBC, the Guardian, Sky News, The Daily Mail, The Telegraph, The London Evening Standard and the Law Society Gazette have more information.

Internet and Social Media

According to the New York Times, Donald Trump’s campaign team contacted X to prevent a 271-page vetting document about his running partner JD Vance from being posted on the social media platform. As a result, the journalist who shared the information, Ken Klippenstein, was removed from X and links to the material were blocked. Klippenstein, who has now had his X account restored, published the material, which derives from a previous hack of the Trump campaign, on his Substack. More information is available from the Guardian, The Verge, New York Magazine, The Morning News and The New Republic.

On 8 October, 14 US Attorney Generals filed separate lawsuits against TikTok for harming the mental health of young people. The lawsuits allege that the company deliberately concealed the safety risks of prolonged use of the platform and uses addictive features to keep children online. Tiktok said that many of the claims were “inaccurate and misleading.”  A similar tranche of cases was filed last year in relation to Meta and the outcome is still pending. The BBC, Washington Post, Sky News, CBS News, AP News, CNN, NPR and Scottish Legal News reported on the development.

Following releases in the US and Australia, Meta has now launched its AI-assistant and AI-boosted sunglasses in the UK, as reported by the Guardian, London Evening Standard and Reuters. The AI-assistant can create text and images and is available on Facebook and Instagram. These developments have raised privacy concerns, as the company announced that it would use user data to train its AI-model. These worries were amplified after two Harvard students adapted Meta’s AI-glasses by linking it to facial recognition software, which then allowed the wearer to instantly identify strangers in public. The students’ experiment showed it was possible to link these identities to other information online, such as phone number, home address and relatives’ names, in real-time. Forbes, Sky News, The Sun, Business Insider and The Verge covered the AI-sunglasses experiment.

Clean Up the Internet blog published its submission to Ofcom’s Online Safety Act Transparency Reporting consultation. It suggests that service providers should be “required to provide detailed and specific information relating to risk factors on their platform, including fake and anonymous accounts.”

Data privacy and data protection

Two former RAC employees have received suspended six-month prison sentences and have each been ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work for unlawfully copying and selling over 29,500 lines of personal information. Both worked at the RAC’s call centre in Stretford, where security monitoring software revealed that they had accessed and shared data on road traffic accident victims with each other via WhatsApp, which was then paid for by a third party. The pair pleaded guilty to charges under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and Data Protection Act 2018. Read the ICO’s blog post here.

The ICO has fined two companies for predatory marketing campaigns in which they made almost 50,000 unsolicited calls targeting people with dementia. WerepairUK Ltd, who are appealing the decision, was fined £80,000 and Service Box Group Limited was fined £40,000. Those targeted were subjected to repeated phone calls and were pressured into buying goods that they did not need.

Guernsey’s data protection authority (ODPA) has said that a scheme in which over 1,500 school children have been given wristbands to monitor and improve their health will benefit from tighter privacy rules. The island’s Health Improvement Commission worked with the wristbands manufacturing company, Moki to allow schoolchildren to track their activity levels. As part of a compliance initiative, the ODPA has worked with Moki to improve its approach to transparency and make the programme opt in, rather than opt-out. The BBC reported on the changes. Read the ODPA’s press release here.

Surveillance

Amnesty International has urged journalists, lawyers, and activists in Northern Ireland who believe they were spied on by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) to submit complaints to the McCullough Review before the October 18 deadline. Led by Angus McCullough KC, the independent inquiry is investigating PSNI’s activities after concerns arose from evidence before an Investigatory Powers Tribunal, which indicated widespread police surveillance.

Newspaper Journalism and regulation

Three former editors of The Observer—Will Hutton, Roger Alton, and John Mulholland—have expressed “profound concern” to the Scott Trust over the proposed sale of the newspaper to Tortoise Media, the Press Gazette has reported. They argued that safeguards promised by the Trust when it acquired the paper in 1993, such as the assurance that The Observer would maintain editorial independence from The Guardian, are being disregarded. This comes after over 70 cultural figures signed a joint letter, describing the planned sale as a “betrayal” of liberal journalism.

IPSO

Statements in open court and apologies

As aforementioned, on Friday 11 October 2024 there was a Statement in Open Court in the case of Vine v Barton KB-2024-000733.

New Issued cases

There was one misuse of private information claim and two defamation (libel and slander) claims filed on the media and communications list last week.

Last week in the courts

On Monday 7 October, there was a PTR in the case of Atole Timothy Enaholo v Claims Governance Totally PLC and another QB-2022-001025 before Kerr J.

On Tuesday 8 October 2024, Knowles J heard the trial in the case of Northcott v Hundeyin KB-2023-002761.

On Wednesday 9 October and Thursday 10 October 2024 there was a trial in the harassment case of Titan Wealth Holdings Limited and others v Okunola KB-2024-000960.

Between Monday 7 and Thursday 10 October 2024, there was a trial before Aidan Eardley KC (sitting as a Deputy Judge in the High Court) in the defamation case of Bates v Rubython and another KB-2023-002975.

Media law in other jurisdictions

Australia

The trial of the defamation claim brought by controversial MP, Moira Deeming, against Victoria’s Liberal leader, John Pesutto, continues this week. In March last year, the newly elected Deeming had attended a ‘Let Women Speak’ event, which was interrupted by neo-Nazis who performed a salute outside Parliament. Following this event, Deeming was suspended from the party and Pesutto shared a dossier with other MPs containing information to support Deeming’s suspension. The plaintiff argues that this dossier, along with media releases, press conferences and interviews, defamed her by portraying her as a Nazi-sympathiser, which the defendant denies. The closing submissions are due to commence on 22 October 2024. The Guardian and ABC have been covering the trial.

DLA Piper’s Privacy Matters Blog has summarised three new draft cyber security bills published by the Australian Government this week. Among the proposed changes are mandatory ransomware reporting in order to improve knowledge of where payments have been made to entities who extort companies and a Cyber Review Board, which will undertake no-fault reviews of significant cybersecurity incidents.

Canada

On 10 October 2024, the Supreme Court has dismissed the defendants’ application for leave to appeal from the judgement of the British Columbia Court of Appeal in the case of Chelsea Rooney, et al. v. Steven Galloway, et al., 2024 CanLII 96614 (SCC). In 2018, Steven Galloway, an author and former Creative Writing Chair at the University of British Columbia, brought a defamation claim against fellow professors, a former student and others, after they shared statements on social media which accused him of sexual assault. The Supreme Court ruled that the allegedly defamatory statements did not fall under the province’s anti-SLAPP provisions, upholding the decision of the Appeal Court and allowing the claim to proceed. The British Columbia Court of Appeal had agreed with the decision at first instance, ruling that the judge had been “aware of the public interest and importance of encouraging reporting of sexual offences” but that “there cannot be an absolute protection surrounding the makers of such statements, regardless of the circumstances or the truth.” CBC, The Vancouver Sun and The Albertan covered the ruling.

On the same day, the Supreme Court of British Columbia granted summary judgement in the case of Lawtez v Wigboldus, 2024 BCSC 1867. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant, who was his former supervisor at the company they worked for, defamed him to a potential new employer. The defendant argued that he provided a poor job reference on the basis of true facts or a reasonably held opinion and that his statements were protected by qualified privilege. The judge found that the plaintiff’s claim could not succeed, as the statements were subject to qualified privilege and there was no evidence of malice, and dismissed the action.

Germany

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has published an article condemning the German government’s attempts to push a “security package” through Parliament, which would dramatically expand biometric surveillance. The proposed measures are in response to a knife attack which took place in Solingen in August. The proposals include expanding the recently adopted Digital Services Act to require companies to share user data in relation to specific criminal offences; introducing AI-assisted mining of data held by law enforcement authorities and allowing law enforcement bodies to identify suspected by comparing their biometric data to all publicly available data on the internet.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong has announced that it will be introducing facial recognition cameras at its border with the city of Shenzhen in Mainland China, according to Biometric Update. These provisions will form part of plans to add 2,000 new surveillance cameras to the region. It is not clear whether all these cameras will have facial recognition capabilities.  Security officials have said that the technology will help to track down suspects and fight crime, however other experts argue that the cameras will be a tool for “political repression.”

Italy

Article 19 have written to the Committee of Ministers at the Council of Europe in relation to the Italian government’s failure to fully abolish criminal defamation provisions, despite historic rulings by the ECtHR that the applicants’ right to freedom of expression had been violated by their criminal convictions for defamation in the cases of Belpietro, Sallusti, Magosso and Brindani group v. Italy. The Court held that imposing a suspended prison sentence or fine was a disproportionate interference with the free expression rights of journalists and editors. Article 19’s submission argues that the government has failed to update the legislation in line with this ruling and that current proposals for reform of defamation law under the Balboni Bill are not human rights compliant, as they would expand the range of criminal sanctions for defamation. Read the submission in full here.

Nigeria

Nigerian media personality, Akpi, was arrested after rapper and singer, Burna Boy, filed a complaint against him for false and malicious statements that damaged his reputation. In a video posted online, Akpi suggested that the artist’s success was partly due to his associations with American rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Coombs, who has been arrested in the US on multiple charges, including sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. After five days in detention, Akpi has now been released on bail. The Premium Times Nigeria, Pulse Nigeria, Daily Post Nigeria, covered the story.

Pakistan

Former Pakistani Prime Minister, Imran Khan, has urgently appealed to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, regarding proposed constitutional amendments by the Pakistani government. Khan, who has been imprisoned since August 2023 following numerous politically motivated prosecutions, argues that the proposal threatens judicial independence by transferring Supreme Court jurisdiction to a new Federal Constitutional Court, allowing politically influenced appointments, and preventing judicial review of military actions. These changes would hinder Khan’s ability to challenge his cases, further eroding the rule of law and human rights protections in Pakistan. Read Doughty Street’s press release here.

Serbia

The ECtHR handed down judgement in Kajganic v Serbia (Application no. 27958/16) on 8 October 2024. The applicant was a lawyer who brought a defamation claim against the author of an article, which suggested that she had arranged for her client to be awarded the status of a cooperating witness in exchange for giving false testimony about the assassination of the Serbian Prime Minister. The Serbian courts held that the legitimate interest of the public being informed about the criminal proceedings relating to the assassination of the Prime Minister outweighed the need to protect the reputation of the defence lawyer acting in those proceedings. The ECtHR stated that the domestic courts adequately balanced the applicant’s right to privacy with the competing free expression rights of the article’s author and found that there had been no Article 8 violation. However, there was a violation of Article 6(1) of the ECHR due to the length of the civil proceedings, which entitled the claimant to EUR 2,100 for non-pecuniary damage.

Thailand

On 11 October, Piyarat Chongthep, an opposition MP who was prosecuted lese majeste, or defaming the royal family, was acquitted by a Thai Court. The MP was accused of mounting a placard in Bangkok which criticised the King in 2021. The case was dismissed on the grounds of insufficient evidence, in a rare acquittal for royal defamation cases. The Straits Times, Bangkok Post, Barron’s, Thai PBS World and Thai News have more information.

United States

The Governor of California, Gavin Newsom has vetoed SB-1047, which would have been the first state legislation regulating AI in the United States. Newsom argued that “while well-intentioned,” the bill applied “stringent standards to even the most basic functions” and that legislation would need to get the balance right between “protecting against actual threats without unnecessarily thwarting the promise of this technology.” The Governor’s statement is available here. The veto was also covered in the Socially Aware blog.

Research and Resources

Next week in the courts

On Tuesday 15 October 2024 there will be a trial of a preliminary issue in the data protection case of  Joseph Pacini, Carsten Geyer -v- Dow Jones & Company Inc. KB-2023-001311 .

On Wednesday 16 October 2024 there will be a renewed application for permission to appeal in the case of Gahir v Neal KA-2024-000073.

On Thursday 17 October 2024 there will be a statement in open court in the case of Price v Associated Newspapers Limited KB-2024-002240.

Reserved judgements

Bates v Rubython and another, heard 7-10 October 2024 (Aidan Eardley KC)

Titan Wealth Holdings Limited and others v Okunola, heard 9 and 10 October 2024

Northcott v Hundeyin, heard 8 October 2024 (Knowles J)

Oliver v Duffy, heard 3 and 4 October 2024 (Hill J)

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

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

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 Jasleen Chaggar who is an advocacy advisor at Big Brother Watch.