This is the last Law and Media Round Up of 2025.  The Michaelmas Legal Term ends on Friday 19 December 2025 and the Hilary Term commences on Monday 12 January 2026 when we will publish our next round up.

There were  two important decisions by the Solicitors’ Disciplinary Tribunal (“SDT”) this week arising out of the SRA’s actions against alleged “SLAPPs”.  First, as reported by Inforrm on 8 December 2025, after a full hearing, all allegations against Christopher Hutchings of Hamlins LLP were dismissed.  There was a report in the Law Society Gazette under the headline, Hamlins partner cleared in closely watched ‘SLAPPs’ case.

Second, on 12 December 2025, the SDT summarily dismissed a “SLAPP” prosecution against Carter Ruck partner Claire Gill.  The panel chair described the case as one ‘based on hindsight rather than evidence of professional misconduct’. It would not be in the interests of justice or proportionality for Gill’s case to proceed further.  There was a report in the Law Society Gazette.

The former footballer Joey Barton has received a six-month suspended prison sentence after being convicted of sending grossly offensive and distressing social media posts about broadcaster Jeremy Vine and pundits Lucy Ward and Eni Aluko. Barton vilified his victims, making false insinuations, including superimposing images of Ward and Aluko onto serial killers and repeatedly referring to Vine as a “bike nonce”. The court also ordered him to complete unpaid community work, pay more than £20,000 in costs and comply with restraining orders, with the judge describing the posts as a sustained and deliberately harmful campaign of online abuse. Read the CPS press release here. The BBC, Guardian, Sky News, ITVX, The Independent, Reuters and The Telegraph covered the ruling.

Far-right activist Tommy Robinson has reportedly sent Reform leader Nigel Farage a pre-action letter for defamation in relation to comments made on an LBC show on 7 January 2025. Farage told the host that Robinson has an extensive criminal record, including for violence against women, which Robinson states is false. Robinson claims he suffered serious harm from the mass publication that he was unable to properly defend at the time because he was in prison.

Channel 4’s Dispatches had a programme concerning the unlawful information gathering claims against the Daily Mail, due for trial in January 2026.  The programme rehearsed a number of points which the Daily Mail had made at various hearings and included very little as to the substance of the claimants’ case.  It has been (surprisingly) suggested by a number of media outlets (The Telegraph, Guardian, Daily Express and GB News) that the claimants’ case has been damaged by an interview by private investigator Jonathan Rees who said that he never carried out a bugging operation for the Daily Mail against Baroness Lawrence. However, Rees said he was aware of surveillance being discussed and was invited to take part.

5RB has a blog post about the High Court’s decision to reject a defendant’s attempt to set aside judgments on liability and remedies on the basis that they were allegedly procured by fraud in the case of Rashed v Deane [2025] EWHC 3201 (KB), ruling that the court had no jurisdiction to hear such an application brought by an unsuccessful party.

Internet and Social Media

Australia has introduced a world-first ban on social media for under-16s, forcing platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, YouTube and X to remove millions of accounts or face fines of up to $49.5m. It will be up to platforms to decide how they implement age verification checks, but requesting ID will not alone be sufficient. While the government acknowledges early implementation problems and mixed reactions from parents, it says the law sets a clear national standard to protect young people. Regulators will now monitor compliance, assess impacts and unintended consequences, and the move is being closely watched internationally as other countries consider similar restrictions. Reddit has launched a High Court challenge to the ban, arguing that while it is complying with the law, the policy raises serious concerns about privacy and political rights, marking the second legal challenge alongside a case brought by two Australian teenagers. The BBC, Guardian, The Telegraph, Sky News, FT and The Independent have more information.

Meta has removed or restricted dozens of accounts linked to abortion access, reproductive health and LGBTQ communities worldwide in what campaigners have described as one of the largest waves of censorship on its platforms in years, according to the Guardian. More than 50 organisations have been affected since October, often with little explanation or effective appeal. While Meta denies a policy shift and says many takedowns were errors later reversed, advocacy groups argue the actions reflect opaque, US-centric moderation that is silencing vital health information.

Data privacy and data protection

The Information Commissioner, John Edwards, has written to local authority leaders warning that the ICO will take legal action if they fail to comply with guidance relating to the disclosure of records to care-experienced people. People trying to access their care records have been met with delays of up to 16 years, have been told that their file has been destroyed or lost in some cases and received pages of unexplained redactions. The ICO has already taken enforcement action against organisations and is calling for urgent reform, arguing that access to care records is vital for personal understanding, accountability and justice. Read the ICO’s press release here. The Guardian has more information.

The ICO has fined LastPass UK Ltd £1.2m after a 2022 cyber-attack exposed the personal details of up to 1.6 million UK users, finding the password manager failed to put adequate security measures in place. The breach stemmed from two linked incidents in which a hacker accessed employee devices, captured a senior staff member’s master password and ultimately broke into LastPass’s backup database, stealing names, email addresses, phone numbers and website URLs. While the ICO found no evidence that customer passwords were decrypted thanks to LastPass’s “zero-knowledge” encryption system, the company’s security failings left users vulnerable despite its promise to protect their data.

Surveillance

The Trump administration has proposed new travel rules that would require tourists from 42 visa-exempt countries, including the UK and France, to disclose five years of social media activity, along with extensive personal, contact and biometric information, when applying for US entry. The changes to the ESTA system are intended to screen visitors for “hostile” views towards US citizens, culture and government, but have sparked criticism from civil liberties groups and tourism bodies. The BBC, Guardian, Politico, Al Jazeera, NBC, NPR, New York Times, CNN, LBC and The Times have more information.

Newspaper Journalism and regulation

Madeleine McCann’s father, Gerry McCann has called for tougher press regulation, describing how his family was “monstered” by sections of the media and subject to intrusive reporting and misleading headlines after his daughter’s disappearance. He and his wife joined more than 30 others in urging the prime minister to revive the second stage of the Leveson inquiry. While the government has ruled out restarting the inquiry, arguing the media landscape has changed, McCann said the lack of effective redress shows stronger protections are still urgently needed. The BBC, Guardian, Sky News, The Independent and London Evening Standard covered the story.

IPSO

Statements in open court and apologies

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

New Issued cases

There was one new data protection case issued in the Media and Communications List this week.

Last week in the courts

On Monday 8 December to Friday 12 December 2025, Eady J heard the trial in the MPI case of Feldman v Gambling Commission KB-2024-003588. The case is brought by two former gambling executives, Kenny Alexander and Lee Feldman, who are separately facing criminal charges for bribery and fraud. Alexander and Feldman allege that the Gambling Commission breached their right to privacy when the pair attempted to take over online casino group 888. The claimants allege the regulator unlawfully disclosed and collaborated on statements about a licence review triggered by concerns linked to an HMRC bribery investigation into their company, which undermined their bid and damaged their reputations. The commission denies wrongdoing, arguing its actions were necessary, lawful and in the public interest, as the men were suspects in a serious investigation and the disclosures revealed no private information. The Telegraph and Guardian has more information.

On the same day there was a hearing of consequential arguments before Richard Spearman KC in the case of Nasser v Raja QB-2022-002648.

On Tuesday 9 December 2025, there was a consequentials hearing before Williams J in the defamation case of Ness v Miller KB-2025-000232 and a hearing of applications in the case of QRT v JBE.

On Wednesday 10 December 2025, there was the hearing of an application in the case of TSE (A Minor, By His Litigation Friend, UTF) v Dahan KB-2025-003183.

On Friday 12 December 2025 there were hearings in the cases of Amersi v BBC KB-2022-003244 and Bruce v High Speed Two Ltd KB-2025-002422.

Media law in other jurisdictions

Australia

It is reported that the High Court has agreed to hear a special case from two teenagers challenging the federal government’s new social media ban for people under 16.  The hearing is likely to be in February 2026 although the law came into force on 10 December 2025.

India

It is reported that, on 28 November 2025, a Delhi court issued a “John Doe” order directed at Indian Kanoon, prominent media organizations, and Google LLC to remove or de-index online content and URLs naming a man previously accused in the 2019 Moser Baer money-laundering case who was fully exonerated on merits in 2024. The court relied on constitutional rights to dignity and privacy, holding that digital records of past accusations served no legitimate interest and caused ongoing reputational harm after acquittal.

Moldova

On 11 December 2025, the ECtHR found that the domestic courts violated Article 8 by failing to give adequate reasons or strike a fair balance when rejecting a former judge’s defamation claim arising from public allegations of professional misconduct made by the President of the Superior Council of Magistrates in the case of Rosca v The Republic of Moldova (Application no. 60943/15). The court held that whilst judicial performance may be legitimately scrutinised, the senior judge who made the remarks failed to exercise the required restraint by presenting speculative allegations as fact and using disrespectful language, and that the domestic courts wrongly prioritised his freedom of expression over the applicant’s right to reputation. The applicant was awarded €5,320 in damages and costs.

United States

The Trump administration’s push to deport 1 million people in a year has driven a sharp expansion of US government surveillance, with immigration authorities repurposing criminal and intelligence technologies, such as facial recognition, geolocation, DNA and licence plate data, AI-driven analytics and commercial data brokers, to track migrants using vast troves of personal data, according to the FT. Former officials and legal experts warn that oversight and privacy safeguards have been weakened, whilst ICE spending on surveillance has surged.

Research and Resources

Next week in the courts

On Monday 15 December 2025, Guy Vassall-Adams KC will hear an application in the case of CF&L Limited v Fraser KB-2025-003877.

[Update]  On Wednesday 17 December 2025, there will be a PTR in the case of Various Claimants v MGN.

On Thursday 18 December 2025 there will be a PTR in the case of Baroness Lawrence and ors v Associated Newspapers KB-2022-003316 before Nicklin J.

On the same day there will be a strike out application in the cases of Uddin v Hatcher and others/Forsters LLP v Uddin KB-2025-002832/KB-2025-003673. 

There will also be a hearing in the case of Hemming v Poulton QB-2020-003558.

Reserved judgements

Feldman v Gambling Commission, heard 8 to 12 December 2025 (Eady J)

Hurst v Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, heard 27 and 28 November 2025 (Collins Rice J).

Ali v Hussain, heard 26 and 27 November 2025.

Optosafe Ltd v Robertson, heard 11 and 12 November 2025 (Steyn J).

This Round Up was compiled by Jasleen Chaggar who is the Legal and Policy Officer at Big Brother Watch.