The FT planned to argue its reporting was substantially true and in the public interest. The FT received a letter from Odey’s lawyers on 17 April 2026 stating that the 67-year-old had been “forced to accept” that the publication was “likely to succeed in establishing” its public interest defence. The Press Gazette has more information here.
Former environment editor of The Times Ben Webster has launched a legal claim against the Government for withholding documents that he claims should be publicly accessible. Webster has alleged that the Government is not carrying out its duty to proactively publish environmental information as stipulated by Regulation 4 of the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR). The report in question relates to the subject of future availability and cost of hydrogen for heating homes, from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) in August 2023 and are to inform part of Webster’s investigation into the viability of hydrogen to heat homes and whether this is a false solution being promoted by the gas industry. The DESNZ claim the report subject to appeal is part of an ongoing decision-making process. The Press Gazette has more information here.
With local and parliamentary elections taking place across the UK in May, Privacy International has produced a timely analysis on the increase in the use of tech and data during elections and the implications for privacy.
Internet and Social Media
On 16 April 2026, Sir Keir Starmer summoned senior figures from Meta, TikTok, Google, Snapchat and X to No 10 as the government considers imposing new restrictions on platforms, including an Australia-style ban for under-16s. Meta owns Facebook and Instagram, and Google owns YouTube. The government is consulting on setting a firm social media age limit alongside potential limitations on app features, such as infinite scrolling. Starmer told executives: “Things can’t go on like this, they must change because right now social media is putting our children at risk. In a world in which children are protected, even if that means access is restricted, that is preferable to a world where harm is the price of participation.” The Guardian, BBC and New York Times have more information.
Data Privacy and Data Protection
The Michael Geist blog has an article explaining how the 2026 United States’ National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers targets Data Sovereignty worldwide. The piece argues that the US is pursuing a two-pronged strategy on cross-border data: the CLOUD Act to assert legal access wherever data sits, and trade policy to pressure countries that try to move their data beyond that reach. Read the full article here.
Surveillance
Privacy International’s latest report Moving Goalposts: Facial Recognition Technology in football and beyond examines how Facial Recognition Technology is being used in sport across different jurisdictions, and what this means for football in the UK. The report finds that, while contexts vary, similar patterns emerge: limited transparency, weak consent and a tendency for systems introduced for narrow purposes to expand over time.
Privacy International also has a piece explaining digital fingerprinting, the automatic collection of individual users’ browser and/or device data (e.g., IP address, browser version, Operating System) to create a unique ‘fingerprint’ for that user. This automatic data collection happens at the moment a user accesses a website or app. Typically, it’s not possible for a user to block this information being shared and devices connected to the internet will provide this information when it is requested.
Newspapers Journalism and Regulation
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has consented to the purchase of the Telegraph Media Group Holdings Ltd by Axel Springer. The DCMS has assessed the proposed merger between Axel Springer and the Telegraph Media Group Holdings Ltd under the public interest media mergers regime and the foreign state influence regime as set out in the Enterprise Act 2002 and is not minded to intervene.
IPSO
- 21014-23 BBC Northern Ireland v The Irish News, 1 Accuracy, Breach – sanction: publication of adjudication
- 01929-25 Kennedy v The Belfast Telegraph, 1 Accuracy, 2 Privacy, 3 Harassment, 4 Intrusion into grief or shock, Breach – sanction: publication of correction
- 02169-25 Collins v The Courier, 1 Accuracy, No breach – after investigation
- 05702-25 Read v Newbury Weekly News, 1 Accuracy, 2 Privacy, Breach – sanction: publication of correction
- 05889-25 Stewart v dailyrecord.co.uk, 1 Accuracy, Breach – sanction: publication of correction
- 03918-25 Moshelian v The National, 1 Accuracy, No breach – after investigation
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 was one defamation (libel and slander) claim and one miscellaneous claim filed on the Media and Communication list last week.
Last Week in the Courts
We are not aware of any MAC List hearings or published judgments from the first week of term.
Media Law in Other Jurisdictions
Australia
Latitude Group Holdings has disclosed that its credit card business has paid a $3.96 million fine following an investigation by the Australian Communications and Media Authority into a Spam Act breach. ACMA found that the business sent SMS messages that did not comply with the statutory rules around commercial electronic messages. Latitude acknowledged the regulator’s findings and said it had self-reported the issue after identifying messages that it believed were potentially non-compliant. Kaline has more information here.
Hungary
Hungary’s election winner Peter Magyar said on Wednesday that his government will suspend the broadcast of state media, pass a new media law, set up a new media authority and ensure press freedom after his cabinet takes power. The Business Standard has more information here.
United States
On Monday 13 April 2026, Judge Darrin P Gayles dismissed a lawsuit filed by Donald Trump over a Wall Street Journal report that he had sent a “bawdy” letter to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein in 2003, though the judge has given the US President two weeks to refile the case. The US President had argued that a lewd drawing at the heart of the story was fake. Judge Gayles found that the complaint “fails to adequately allege actual malice”, the standard for defamation lawsuits filed by well-known individuals. Gayles argued that there was significant evidence that the Journal sought to determine whether the drawing was genuine, and that the fact that Trump claimed it was fake does not mean that the Journal acted “with serious doubts” about the story. “Because President Trump has not plausibly alleged that defendants published the article with actual malice, both counts must be dismissed.” The Wall Street Journal, CNN, BBC and Guardian are some of the many news outlets to cover the ruling.
The Charlie Kirk Act, named for the late conservative activist, was passed by the Tennessee General Assembly on 13 April 2026. The Act would bring disciplinary action against students and faculty members that who disrupt a guest speaker by protesting or staging a walkout. The Act would also require colleges and universities to sign the University of Chicago’s policy on freedom of speech — and prohibit administrations from uninviting a speaker based on their opposition to abortion or LGBTQ rights. The Act therefore offers a higher tier of protection for the speaker under the First Amendment than the audience. WPLN has more information here.
Research and Resources
- Sangwan, Deepfakes and the Criminal Justice System: Legal Challenges to Consent, Privacy, and Evidence (2025), Amity University, Amity Law School
- Douglas, M&A Exceptionalism in Privacy Law (2025), Temple University – James E. Beasley School of Law
- Adu Wiafe, The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Right to Privacy: A Human Rights Perspective (2026), Independent
- Babalola, Artificial Intelligence, Predictive Privacy and Data Protection Under Nigerian Law (2025), University of Portsmouth
Next Week in the Courts
On Monday 20 April 2026, the five-day data protection trial in Lazarevic and another v Refinitiv Ltd KB-2024-003170 is listed to begin before Sheldon J.
On the same day, the libel trial in Rodoy v Optical Express KB-2023-002437 will begin before Griffiths J.
There will also be a consequentials hearing in Ali v Hussain KB-2024-000959 before Guy Vassall-Adams KC.
On Tuesday 21 April 2026 there will be the hearing of an adjourned application in the libel case of De Giovanni v Kehoe and another KB-2025-003851.
On Wednesday 22 April 2026 there will be the hearing of the defendant’s strike out and summary judgment application in the case of Whittingham v Jones KB-2025-004567.
On Thursday 23 April 2026 there will be a statement in open court in the misuse of private information case of Jarman v The Countess Spencer KB-2024-003380
Reserved Judgments
Baroness Lawrence & ors v ANL, heard 19 January – 31 March 2026 (Nicklin J)
Pearson v Chief Constable of Essex Police, heard 24 March 2026 (Chamberlain J)
Clutterbuck v The Chief Constable of West Mercia Police, heard 16-18 March 2026 (Dan Squires KC)
Graham and another v Beckett, heard 17 March 2026 (Heather Williams J)
Colette Allen is the host of Newscast on Dr Thomas Bennett and Professor Paul Wragg’s The Media Law Podcast (@MediaLawPodcast).