This week, a new generative AI chatbot model, DeepSeek, which was produced in China was released and quickly became one of the most downloaded apps on the Apple Store. DeepSeek claims to have been built on a much smaller budget than existing models, such as Open AI, by using fewer memory chips.

The news caused the US chip-making company, Nvidia, to lose $600bn in value within one day and sent shockwaves through the US markets. Both Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump have emphasised the importance of AI as a priority for their respective administrations, with Trump calling the DeepSeek launch a “wake-up call” for American companies. The Chinese model has been trained evade politically controversial questions; for example, when asked about what happened at Tiananmen Square in 1989, the chatbot responds that it “cannot answer that question.”  The BBC, Reuters, Independent, Guardian, Forbes, Telegraph, FT, New York Times, The Mirror, The Daily Mail and CNN have more information.

On Wednesday 29 January 2025, Steyn J dismissed the claimant’s application to strike out the defendant’s defences of truth and public interest in the case of Clarke v Guardian News and Media QB-2020-001397. The case concerns a series of articles published by the Guardian which reported accusations of sexually inappropriate behaviour against the actor, Noel Clarke. At the application hearing, the claimant’s lawyers argued that the Guardian had fabricated evidence of the allegations and that journalists were told to destroy Signal messages, once Clarke threatened legal action. The Guardian denied these allegations and accused Clarke of using the hearing to make unfounded accusations in court under the protection of privilege. The Judge indicated that full reasons would be given at a later date. The full trial will be heard in March 2025. The Guardian, BBC, Daily Mail, The Herald, London Evening Standard, Sky News, The Independent, Press Gazette, The Mirror and Wirral Globe covered the hearing.

Internet and Social Media

Clean up the Internet has a blog post on Ofcom’s recently published Illegal Content Codes of Practice due to come into force later this year. Under the Online Safety Act, online service providers will be required to implement measures to protect users from illegal content and activity.

Data privacy and data protection

DLA Piper have a blog post summarising guidance produced by the ICO on device fingerprinting. Device fingerprinting collects information about a device’s software and hardware so that it can be identified. The regulator criticised Google’s decision last December to lift the ban on device fingerprinting for organisations who use its advertising products, emphasizing the need for consent and user control. Device fingerprinting may come to replace the role of third party cookies, provoking the ICO to expand its focus.

The ICO have a blog post on ‘Debunking data protection myths about AI.’ It counters the myths, among others, that AI development should be exempt from law and that people have no control over their personal data being used to train AI.

Surveillance

According to a survey of 1,000 companies, 85% of employers admit to using monitoring tools to track the productivity of their workers. The types of surveillance ranged from monitoring websites visited and reviewing emails and chat logs to checking company-issued devices in real-time and tracking keystrokes and locations. The Register and TechRadar reported on the research.

Art, Music and Copyright

The House of Lords has passed amendments to the Data (Use and Access) Bill which are designed to prevent the unauthorised and uncompensated use of intellectual property for data scraping to train AI. The provision would ensure that AI companies are subject to UK copyright law, irrespective of where they operate from, and would give owners of works published online the power to uncover the names and owners of web crawlers and determine whether their work has been appropriated. Press Gazette has more information.

IPSO

Statements in open court and apologies

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

New Issued cases

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

Last week in the courts

On Monday 27 January 2025 Williams J hand down judgment in favour of the claimant in the data protection case of Ashley v The Commissioners for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs [2025] EWHC 134 (KB). The claim was brought by Sports Direct tycoon, Mike Ashley, after he submitted a subject access request to HMRC in 2022 asking for the information held on him in relation to a tax challenge the department had made against him. HMRC initially declined the request on the basis that the information did not constitute his personal data, then subsequently provided Mr Ashley with information which he argued was incomplete and inadequate. The court ruled that HMRC “has currently adopted too narrow an approach to what amounts to the claimant’s personal data,” [209] but rejected the broader argument that all of his data relating to HMRC’s assessment of his taxes constituted his personal data. 11KBW summarised the judgement. The Telegraph, City AM, Law360 and Retail Gazette covered the ruling.

On Tuesday 28 January 2025 there were hearings in the cases of El-Saeiti v The Islamic Centre KB-2024-000630 and Johnson v Chief Constable of Bedfordshire QB-2020-002687.

As already mentioned, on Wednesday 29 January 2025, Steyn J dismissed the claimant’s application to strike out the defendant’s defences in the case of Clarke v Guardian News and Media QB-2020-001397.

Media law in other jurisdictions

Canada

On 27 January 2025, the Supreme Court of British Columbia handed down judgement in favour of the claimant in the defamation case of Sanderson v Bennett, 2025 BCSC 118. The claimant and defendant had a shared ownership interest in a rental vacation unit in Whistler. The claimant alleged that the defendant slandered him during a meeting and libelled him in an email.  The defendant making the oral statement but admitted to the defamatory email, arguing that the defence of qualified privilege applies and that the claimant did not mitigate his losses. The court found that the email communication did not fall into one of the recognised categories where qualified privilege applies [103-104]. The judge awarded the claimant $85,000 in damages, finding that the claimant had taken steps to mitigate his loss.

On the same day, the Supreme Court of Ontario dismissed the defendant’s anti-SLAPP motion in the case of Diverse Transportation v. Chen, 2025 ONSC 554. The claimant, a trucking company, formerly employed the defendant, Mr Chen. Following a dispute over his termination pay, Mr Chen began sending emails to the company’s customers alleging misconduct and portraying the company in a negative light. The defendant argued that the warnings were a matter of public interest and that the customers should know that it was a disreputable company [19]. The court dismissed the motion, ruling that the claim did not constitute a SLAPP since there is no public interest in the private dispute between the parties [64].

Italy

Garante, Italy’s data protection regulator, has requested that the new generative AI model developed in China, DeepSeek, clarify how it uses personal data. In particular, Garante is seeking information about what personal data is collected by DeepSeek, where the data originates from, for what purposes the data is used, on what legal basis under the GDPR it is processed and whether it is stored on servers in China. The AI company will be required to respond to the queries within 20 days. Reuters, Politico, Digital Watch Observatory, Euronews and Verdict covered the request.

Poland

Article 19 has published a joint letter calling for defamation to be fully decriminalised in Poland. The Codification Commission for Criminal Law announced that the offence of defamation under Article 212 of the Criminal Code will be narrowed in scope, however the signatories to the letter argued that this does do enough to remove the chilling effect of the offence.

Sweden

Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson has announced plans to fast-track legislation which would allow the police to use electronic surveillance tools on under 15s to combat gang-related bombings. The wiretapping proposal has been brought forward to combat an increasing spate of crime committed by teenagers who are hired by gangs through online platforms, such as Telegram, TikTok and Instagram.  Reuters, Politico and MSN covered the plans.

United States

The Pulitzer Prize Board has requested that the Court pause President Trump’s defamation lawsuit against it until his presidency ends. Trump sued the board in 2022 for upholding its decision to award the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting to The Washington Post and The New York Times for their coverage of Russian interference in the 2016 election and alleged ties to his campaign. The defendant relied on Trump’s own previous legal reasoning, whereby he sought to delay civil lawsuits against him while in office, arguing that the Constitution may limit state court jurisdiction over a sitting president. The New York Times, CNN, Newsweek, The Washington Post and The Hill reported on the development.

Research and Resources

Next week in the courts

On Monday 3 and Tuesday 4 February, there will be a two-day trial in the case of Samuels v Grant KB-2023-002128.

On Thursday 6 February, there will be an application hearing in the defamation case of Baranoff-Rossine v Filmowicz KB-2023-002426.

Reserved judgements

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

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

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

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

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 the Legal and Policy Officer at Big Brother Watch.