Essex Police have dropped their investigation into Telegraph journalist Allison Pearson over a possible breach of the Public Order Act 1986 regarding a year-old, deleted post on X.

The investigation related to a tweet Pearson was alleged to have re-posted on 16 November 2023. The post showed two police officers standing next to a group of people holding a flag associated with a mainstream Pakistani political party, accompanied by the message “How dare they @metpoliceuk. Invited to pose for a photo with lovely peaceful British Friends of Israel on Saturday police refused. Look at this lot smiling with the Jew haters.”

The message was viewed more than 400,000 times according to X. Context added to the message by other X users noted that the picture appeared to be from a protest which took place in August 2023 in Manchester relating to a Pakistani political party and said the event had no relation to Palestine, Israel or Hamas. For an offence to be a committed under the Public Order Act 1986 the language used must be “threatening, abusive or insulting” and “intended to or likely in all the circumstances to stir up racial hatred”. The BBC, Sky News, Press Gazette, Guardian and Independent have more information.  

Data Privacy and Data Protection

The Information Commissioner’s Officer (ICO) are marking their 40th anniversary by launching a digital exhibition telling the story of the most important moments in privacy and information rights over the past four decades. Our lives, our privacy: the 40 items that shaped 40 years of privacy rights showcases key objects – from lawn aerator shoes to mobile phones to the Tesco Clubcard – that represent how our relationship with privacy has evolved since 1984 through cultural, societal, political and technological changes, and how the regulator has evolved with it. Read the press statement here.

On 20 November 2024, the EU Cyber Resilience Act was published in the Official Journal of the EU, kicking off the phased implementation of the CRA obligations. DLA Piper has more information here. Privacy and Information Law Blog has more information here.

Surveillance

Privacy International has an article that explores the responses received from UK Members of Parliament between November 2023 and June 2024 following the initial launch of their campaign “The End of Privacy in Public”, and discuss the current state of regulation of Facial Recognition Technology in the UK.

Privacy International also has an article exploring the ways educational spaces are increasingly being subjected to intrusive monitoring, arguing the education technologies (EdTech)  deployed are being used as a form of surveillance that undermines students’ privacy and human rights.

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 were three defamation (libel and slander) claims filed on the media and communications list last week.

Last Week in the Courts

On Monday 18 November to Thursday 20 November 2024, there was a trial before HHJ Parkes KC in the defamation case of Miller v Peake QB-2022-001106.

On Wednesday 20 November, judgment was handed down by Deputy Master Marzec in Samuels t/a Samuels & Co Solicitors v Henry [2024] EWHC 2898 (KB). Held, the claimant did not prove her case that the defendant was liable for the publication of any of the three Google Review posts complained about in these claims [40]. The claim was dismissed.

On the same day, there was also a hearing in the case of Aboyami v Kings College London & Aboyami v CIFAS and application in the case of Centreview Partners v Ajikawo KB-2024-002080.

On Thursday 21 November, there was an application in the case of Chirkunov v Persons Unknown KB-2024-002814.

Media Law in Other Jurisdictions

Australia

Australia’s government has introduced a bill in parliament that aims to ban social media for children under 16 and proposed fines of up to A$49.5 million ($32 million) for social media platforms for systemic breaches. Australia plans to trial an age-verification system that may include biometrics or government identification to enforce a social media age cut-off, some of the toughest controls imposed by any country to date. Reuters has more information here.

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has released the findings of its investigation into the use of facial recognition technology (FRT) in at least 62 of the national hardware retailer Bunnings stores between November 2018 and November 2021. FRT was used to monitor and identify individuals known by the retailer to engage in antisocial behaviour in its stores. Australia’s Privacy Commissioner has described their use as “Ethically challenging” and “the most intrusive option.” DLA Piper has more information here.

Germany

On 18 November 2024, the German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof – “BGH”) made a (to date unpublished) judgment under the case number VI ZR 10/24 regarding claims for non-material damages pursuant to Art. 82 GDPR, due to the loss of control over personal data. The judgment is based on a personal data breach at Facebook. In April 2021, data from over 500 million users was made public on the internet. This data was collected by unknown third parties using scraping. DLA Piper has more information here.  

Northern Ireland

The High Court in Belfast has ruled that the defamation proceedings brought by a haulier over a newspaper report on the police investigation into the deaths of 39 migrants in a lorry container are to be dismissed. The Belfast Telegraph has more information here.

United States

The US Department of Justice has proposed a range of remedies to address Google’s dominance of the internet search market, including the forced divestment of its Chrome browser. Google said the proposals represented a “radical interventionist agenda” that would harm America’s standing as a tech superpower. The Guardian, The Register, Forbes and BBC have more information.

The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts has held that website operators’ use of third-party tracking software, including Meta Pixel and Google Analytics, is not prohibited under the state’s Wiretap Act. The decision arose out of an action brought against two hospitals for alleged violations of the Massachusetts Wiretap Act. The complaint alleged that the hospitals’ websites collected and transmitted users’ browsing activities (including search terms and web browser and device configurations) to third parties, including Facebook and Google, for advertising purposes. The Privacy and Information Law Blog has more information here.

Vietnam

Vietnam’s draft of a new data protection law has sparked pushback from US tech companies over what would be stringent international data transfer terms, and the ability of the government to demand that data be turned over in “the public interest.” Meta, Google and others have been considering new data centre projects in the country, decisions that they say could now be influenced by what Vietnam’s government decides at the end of November 2024. CPO has more information here.

Research and Resources

Next Week in the Courts 

Between 25 November and 3 December 2024 there will be a trial in the case of Smith & Jackson v Surridge (QB-2022-000858) before Saini J.

On 26 and 27 November 2024 there will be a CCMC in Baroness Lawrence and others v ANL before Nicklin J and Senior Master Cook (KB-2022-003316)

On 26 November 2024 there will be a statement in open court in the case of Kamm v Ross (KB-2024-003439).

On 27 November 2024 there will be a preliminary issues trial in the case of Smart Shirts Limited v Sheffield Hallam  (KB-2023-004736).

On 28 November 2024 there will be a hearing in the case of Titan Wealth v Okunola

On the same say there will be a hearing in the case of Harcombe v Associated Newspapers (QB-2020-000799)

Reserved Judgments

Miller v Peake, heard 18 to 20 November 2024 (HHJ Parkes KC)

RTM v Bonne Terre Limited and another, heard 11 to 15 November 2024 (Collins Rice J )

Vince v Bailey, heard 11-12 November 2024 (Pepperall J)

Vince v Tice and Vince v Staines heard 11 November 2024 (Pepperall J)

Salman Iqbal v Geo TV Limited, heard 5 November 2024 (Underhill LJ, Dingemans LJ and Warby LJ)

Secretary of State for Education v Marples, 4 November 2024, (Sir Peter Lane)

Prismall v Google UK Ltd, heard 22 October 2024 (Sharp P, Nicola Davies and Dingemans LJJ).

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).  She was nominated as the Next Generation Media Lawyer of the Month (November) for work on the blog and the podcast.