On 11 March 2026 judgment was handed down by Collins Rice J in Kamal v Tax Policy Associates Ltd & Anor [2026] EWHC 551 (KB), the first case considering the anti-SLAPP rules in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.  The defendant’s anti-SLAAP application was successful.

The claim was for defamation and malicious falsehood brought by a barrister practising tax law in the UK but resident overseas against both Tax Policy Associates Ltd and its founder. It related to an article published on www.taxpolicy.org.uk entitled ‘TikTok tax avoidance from Arka Wealth: why the Government and the Bar should act’. The article criticised the Claimant’s role and conduct in acting on behalf of certain tax avoidance schemes and efforts to prevent HMRC from listing the schemes as such on its website.

Collins Rice J held that “the meanings Mr Kamal pleads as being defamatory at common law have no realistic prospect of being held by a court to be anything other than expressions of opinion” [86] and that “The basis of all the various opinions it expresses, including but not limited to those potentially defamatory of Mr Kamal, is indicated in both general and specific terms” [90]. She gave summary judgment for the defendants on these grounds, and therefore her determination on the application of s.195 Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 was symbolic. However, it provides a valuable interpretation of these new piece of legislation. Read the Tax Policy Associates statement on the judgment here. Handley Gill provide a summary of Collins Rice J’s analysis of s.195 ECCTA here. The Times covers the ruling here.

Internet and Social Media

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published an open letter to social media and video-sharing platforms operating in the UK, calling on them to strengthen age assurance measures so that young children cannot access services that are not designed for them. The letter sets out the ICO’s expectations that platforms with a minimum age must move beyond relying on children to self-declare their ages, which they can easily bypass. Read the ICO’s press release here. Reuters has more information on the ICO and Ofcom’s increased demand on social media platforms here.

Surveillance

Privacy International has an article on the right to privacy and the use of AI in counter-terrorism, prompted by the Position Paper on the Human Rights Impacts of Using Artificial Intelligence in Countering Terrorism and the increase interest and use of AI technologies in counter terrorism. The piece argues AI in counter-terrorism drives intrusive surveillance and unreliable risk scoring that can wrongly target individuals. PI advocates for strong safeguards because these systems amplify privacy harms and discriminatory outcomes.

Newspapers, Journalism and Regulation

Questions have been raised over why a reporting restriction was initially put in place to prevent the media naming of Salem Al-Salem, who appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 10 March 2026 accused of crimes including murder and torture in Damascus, Syria, in 2011. Al-Salem was not publicly identified for around 24 hours after being charged, but at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday morning, chief magistrate Paul Goldspring rejected Salem’s bid for a reporting restriction on his name after hearing submissions from the Press Association. The Press Gazette has more information here.

IPSO

The following rulings have been published last week:

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

Last Week in the Courts

The trial in the case of Baroness Lawrence and ors v Associated Newspapers continued before Nicklin J. The Press Gazette’s coverage of the week’s proceedings can be read here.

On Monday 9 March 2026 Tipples J heard an application in the defamation case of Di Giovanni v Kehoe KB-2025-003851.

On Tuesday 10 March 2026, there was a hearing of an application in the defamation case of Aluko v Barton  KB-2024-001987.

As mentioned above, on 11 March 2026 judgment was handed down by Collins Rice J in Kamal v Tax Policy Associates Ltd & Anor [2026] EWHC 551 (KB).

On the same day, the Divisional Court dismissed the prosecution appeal against the decision of the Chief Magistrate, striking out the prosecution of Kneecap rapper, Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, DPP v O hAnnaidh [2026] EWHC 540 (Admin). The Divisional Court has confirmed that the prosecution was brought out of time, given that the permission of the Attorney General was required at the time the written charge was issued. The BBC and Irish Times cover the judgment.

On 12 March 2026, judgment was handed down by Steyn J in Berg v Jones [2026] EWHC 564 (KB). The case concerned an article written by Owen Jones and published on Drop Site News about the Claimant, Raphael Berg, who is Middle East Editor for online BBC News. Mrs Justice Steyn found that the meaning was: “The claimant, in his senior editorial role and as a writer, has consistently failed to meet the BBC’s editorial standards of impartiality and fairness by shaping coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict so as to favour Israel, including by editing the BBC’s coverage in ways that (i) promote the government of Israel’s narratives; and (ii) fail to humanise Palestinians killed or injured in the conflict, thereby producing biased and imbalanced journalism”. The statement complained of was defamatory of the Claimant at common law. 5RB has more information here.

On the same day there was the first day of a hearing in the case of Tooley v Associated Newspapers KB-2025-004496.  Day 2 will be heard on 19 March 2026.

Also on 12 March 2026, there was a trial of a preliminary issue in the case of malicious falsehood case of Digital Isle Limited v Marcos Enterprise Limited and another KB-2024-000614 .

On Friday 13 March 2026 there was a PTR in the case of Rodoy v Optical Express KB-2023-002437.

Media Law in Other Jurisdictions

Australia 

On 9 March 2026, Australia started enforcing strict online age-verification rules aimed at protecting minors from harmful digital content. This has resulted in a surge in downloads of VPNs as users try to circumvent the new verification requirements. App stores must implement age checks for 18+ apps. Companies face fines of up to A$49.5 million for non-compliance. Several adult websites blocked Australian access rather than implement the system. Reuters has more information here.

Europe 

European privacy watchdogs have raised concerns over the US’s requirement for travellers to share their social media history and provide personal information about family members when they apply for a visiting visa in the country. An update to the ESTA visa-waiver system requires travellers to provide additional information, including details of their social media activity over the past five years and information on family members, such as their address, phone number and date of birth. Euractive has more information here.

Finland 

Privacy International, the European Disability Forum, and a Finnish Disability forum representative have issued a statement warning that Finland’s new social welfare legal reforms pose threats to human rights, including the right to privacy. Privacy International provides a summary of the key concerns here.

Kenya 

A constitutional petition has been filed at the Milimani High Court challenging the alleged unlawful sharing and use of protesters’ personal data by telecommunications companies and investigative agencies. In the petition, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has named several state agencies, police officers, and institutions as respondents, accusing them of unlawfully accessing and using private communication and location data of protesters between 2024 and 2025. According to court documents, a telecommunications service provider is listed as the first respondent. Citizen Digital has more information here.

South Korea 

On 10 March 2026, South Korea promulgated the most consequential rewrite of its Personal Information Protection Act since the law’s 2023 overhaul. The amendment introduces a penalty ceiling of 10% of total turnover and places personal supervisory liability on the CEO. In a jurisdiction where the enforcement authority has consistently demonstrated a willingness to investigate aggressively and impose substantial penalties, the practical risk is now among the highest in the world. The IAPP blog has more information here.

United States 

Elon Musk’s xAI has lost its bid for a preliminary injunction that would have temporarily blocked California from enforcing a law that requires AI firms to publicly share information about their training data. The law requires AI developers whose models are accessible in the state to clearly explain which dataset sources were used to train models, when the data was collected, if the collection is ongoing, and whether the datasets include any data protected by copyrights, trademarks, or patents. ArsTechnica has more information here.

New York Attorney General Letitia James and 16 other attorneys general have sued the Trump administration over a sweeping new federal data collection mandate targeting colleges and universities. The lawsuit challenges the U.S. Department of Education’s new “Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement” survey, which forces institutions to rapidly compile and report years of highly detailed admissions and student data, including information broken down by race, gender, income, and academic performance. Attorney General James and the coalition argue that the Department of Education rushed the new requirements into effect without complying with the law in an attempt to target diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, placing an unmanageable burden on colleges and universities and creating serious risks to student privacy. The attorneys general are asking the court to block the federal government from forcing institutions to submit the data. The PogoWasRight blog has more information here.

Research and Resources

Next Week in the Courts 

On Monday 16 March 2026, Fancourt J will hand down judgment in the case of Various Claimants v MGN, (heard 27-30 January 2026, 3, 5 and 6 February 2026).

Between Monday 16 and Wednesday 18 March 2026, there will be the trial in Clutterbuck v The Chief Constable of West Mercia Police KB-2025-001245.

On Tuesday 17 March 2026c there will be the appeal hearing in Graham and another v Beckett KA-2025-000207.

On Thursday 19 March 2026, there will be then second day of applications in Tooley v Associated Newspapers/TMG KB-2025-004492.

On the same day there will be a directions hearing in Ogunkanmi v Meta Platforms Inc & ors KB-2024-002266 and ZAB v PERSON(S) UNKNOWN KB-2026-000428.

On Friday 20 March 2026, there will be a hearing of Fry v Agilah-Hood KB-2023-002563

On the same day, Baroness Lawrence’s Trial resumes again after a 4-day break.

Reserved Judgments

 Digital Isle Limited v Marcos Enterprise Limited and another, heard 12 March 2026 (Tipples J)

This Round Up was prepared by Colette Allen who is the host of Newscast on Dr Thomas Bennett and Professor Paul Wragg’s The Media Law Podcast (@MediaLawPodcast).