A man has been arrested in London after an incident in Birmingham in which a man was run over by a van after flags were removed from lamp-posts. Officers arrested the suspect at Euston station near the meeting point of the “unite the kingdom” march. Another man was arrested on suspicion of encouraging people to attack a police officer.
The Guardian, Al Jazeera, BBC and Le Monde are some of the many news outlets to cover the weekend’s protests.
The King’s Speech was delivered on 13 May 2026 and set out a broad digital policy agenda, including bills covering alignment with the EU, cybersecurity, health data, national security, police reform, digital IDs, facial recognition and other regulations, but it also notably omitted a standalone AI bill. Whereas data, digital and tech policy might have been traditionally contained within legislative initiatives clearly labelled as such, the latest King’s Speech, and the accompanying Briefing Notes, looks to a more diffused regulatory ecosystem, with data and digital governance issues distributed across many legislative initiatives. IAPP has more information here.
Internet and Social Media
Ofcom has fined a Suicide Forum £950,000 for severe failures in protecting users from harmful content. The forum – reportedly linked with over 130 deaths in the UK – was the first service to be investigated by Ofcom under the UK’s online safety laws last year. It has been cited in multiple coroners’ reports regarding the deaths of UK citizens. Despite the forum making changes to block UK users, it is still accessible in the UK without using a VPN. The Forum’s provider now has two weeks to come into compliance. Ofcom is preparing an application for a court order to block the forum in UK if concerns not addressed.
The Transparency Project has an article on the decision by Meta (the parent of Facebook and Instagram) to remove The Good Law Project’s (GLP) post about their campaign supporting Liv Nervo. The article agrees that there seems to have been no legitimate basis for Meta to remove the GLP post, but notes that it is possible that some did breach reporting restrictions. The concern is that Meta appeared to remove fair comment about the Pringle-Nervo case without first checking whether there was any legal ground for complaint.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) have issued guidance on how organisations can be protected from AI-powered cyber threats.
Artificial Intelligence
Privacy International has an article analysing what the Grok AI deepfake scandal reveals about how generative AI collides with fundamental rights. The Grok AI EU scandal began in January 2026 after users discovered that the xAI chatbot, Grok, could generate non-consensual sexualised images of real people using ordinary photos posted online. The European Commission launched investigations, while Ireland’s Data Protection Commission separately opened a GDPR investigation into how personal data was being processed. The scandal has resulted in an important test for how existing regulation – and regulators – can respond to the potential real-world harms of generative AI. It has become a significant moment in AI governance because it changed how regulators framed the problem.
Data Privacy and Data Protection
Mishcon de Reya has an article that analyses whether the ICO is exploring how to restrict the public’s rights under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). The post is prompted by a recent disclosure by the ICO made – ironically enough, under FOIA – which proposes a “suite of provisions” that would have the effect of “reducing the impact of requests on [public authorities] and the ICO”. Read the full article here.
The ICO has fined South Staffordshire Plc and South Staffordshire Water Plc £963,900 following a serious cyber-attack that resulted in the personal information of 633,887 people being extracted and published on the dark web.
Surveillance
Danial Solove has posted a review of Andrew Guthrie Ferguson new book, Your Data Will Be Used Against You: Policing in the Age of Self-Surveillance. As society increasingly brings surveillance upon ourselves via the devices we use, we are allowing enormous amounts of our data to be readily available for the government to access. Read more on Solove On Tech.
Art, Music and Copyright
The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has received the first sound mark application to protect against digital replicas and deepfakes. Italian singer Giusy Ferreri filed an application (No 019353063) for a sound mark consisting of the phrase ‘SONO GIUSY FERRERI’ (“I am Giusy Ferreri”). IPKat has more information on the landmark application here.
IPSO
- 03511-25 Ahlulbayt Islamic Mission v The Daily Telegraph, 1 Accuracy, 12 Discrimination, Breach – sanction: publication of correction
- 06060-25 Portes v The Times, 1 Accuracy, No breach – after investigation
- 03844-25 Ahlulbayt Islamic Mission v The Sunday Telegraph, 1 Accuracy, 12 Discrimination, Breach – sanction: publication of correction
- 05134-25 Moshelian v The National, 1 Accuracy, No breach – after investigation
- 05758-25 Jones v The Sun, 1 Accuracy, 2 Privacy, No breach – after investigation
- 05759-25 Jones v dailymail.co.uk, 1 Accuracy, 2 Privacy, No breach – after investigation
- Resolution Statement – 06085-25 A complainant v dailymail.co.uk, 2 Privacy, 4 Intrusion into grief or shock, 6 Children, Resolved – IPSO mediation
- 06172-25 Moshelian v The National, 1 Accuracy, No breach – after investigation
- 06391-24 McConnell v thecourier.co.uk, 1 Accuracy, No breach – after investigation
- 06520-25 Cambridge University Press v The Sunday Telegraph, 1 Accuracy, Breach – sanction: publication of correction
- 00326-26 Singh v dailyrecord.co.uk, 1 Accuracy, 2 Privacy, 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 were no new issued cases on the media and communications list last week.
Last Week in the Courts
On Monday 11 May 2026 there was a hearing in the case of Sinha and Ors v Hackett, KB-2026-001579.
On Tuesday 12 May 2026 there was a hearing in the harassment case of Ideasoft LLC v Kolomiets KB-2025-003394.
On Wednesday 13 May 2026 there was a hearing in the case of Ali v Hussain.
On the same day, the Court of Appeal delivered judgment in Idowu Ogunkami v Cynthia Chia [2026] EWCA Civ 588. Warby LJ (with whom Arnold LJ and Peter Jackson LJ agreed) dismissed the libel claimant’s appeal against a £25,000 damages award, confirming that English courts will not compensate for reputational harm sustained abroad unless the claim has been properly pleaded and the double actionability rule satisfied. The Grounds of Appeal alleged that the judge “materially erred” because “her decision to reduce damages on the basis that the Claimant’s locus of reputation was outside the jurisdiction was a fundamental misdirection, and she should instead have awarded damages for harm globally” [23]. Warby LJ held that the global reputational harm cannot be recovered without proper pleading of foreign publication [45].
Also on 13 May 2026, Steyn J delivered judgment on various applications by the defendants in De Giovanni v Kehoe & Ors [2026] EWHC 1136 (KB). The claimant has brought two claims for defamation in respect of an article published in The Londoner on 2 August 2025, bearing the headline “‘Claudio is Scamming.'” The first claim was issued in the county court (M4QZ5K0Z) on 8 August 2025, and brought against the first defendant only, claiming damages of £5,000 and the court fee (the ‘County Court Claim’). The claimant sought and obtained default judgment in the sum of £10,250 on 29 August 2025. The second claim was issued in the High Court on 20 October 2025, as a Part 8 claim (KB-2025-003851) against all three defendants, in which the claimant seeks damages of £250,000. A default judgment entered against the defendants in the County Court was set aside and the county court claim is struck out as an abuse of process pursuant to CPR 3.4(2)(b). In respect of the High Court claim, the defendants’ application for an extension of time, relief from sanctions, a declaration that the court has no jurisdiction, and an order setting the claim form aside, is granted; the application to dismiss the claim for failure to comply with a notice under CPR 7.7(1) is refused. The Londoner provides its account of the Hight Court claim in this article from March 2026.
On Thursday 14 May 2026 the Court of Appeal (Lewison, Coulson and Warby LJJ) heard an appeal in the case of Vince v Tice. Judgment was reserved.
On the same day there was the hearing of an application in the libel case of Picker v TEW KB-2023-003201.
On Friday 15 May 2026 there was a hearing in the case of Kofoworola v Kerr and others KA-2025-000220.
Media Law in Other Jurisdictions
Australia
On 18 May 2026, the prominent far-right group known as White Australia launched a major legal challenge against the federal government’s criminalisation of the network. The federal government banned the neo-Nazi group the National Socialist Network (NSN), also known as White Australia, by listing it as a prohibited hate group under legislation passed in the wake of December’s Bondi beach terror attack. The case will test the constitutional validity of prohibiting political groups from using digital media to organize. The Guardian has more information here.
Canada
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has issued a key telecom order finalizing cost awards for public interest advocacy groups, wrapping up a series of spring actions under its broader Consumer Protections Action Plan.
Malaysia
Malaysia has released a trio of data protection guides on automated decision-making and profiling, data protection impact assessments and data protection by design. Businesses operating in this Asia-Pacific market are expected to quicken their compliance pace. IAPP has more information here.
United States
The Federal Trade Commission has abruptly ended its highly controversial investigation into the media watchdog group Media Matters for America. The agency had faced intense backlash and “lawfare” accusations after demanding internal communications regarding the group’s reporting on extremist content running alongside corporate ads on X. Critics hailed the legally binding settlement as a win against political intimidation. The Guardian has more information here.
On 28 April 2026, Maryland signed the Protection From Predatory Pricing Act into law, the country’s first law to ban surveillance pricing at groceries stores. Shortly after the law was enacted, Consumer Reports issued a news release explaining why this landmark legislation may fail to deliver on its promises. The conflict between groundbreaking legislation and its practical constraints is the key to the story. Legal and compliance departments in food retail must know exactly what the law requires. IAPP has more information here.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta along with the California Privacy Protection Agency and local district attorneys announced a USD12.75 million California Consumer Privacy Act settlement with General Motors over allegations of unlawful collection and sale of Californians’ driving and location data. The settlement represents the largest CCPA fine ever issued.
Research and Resources
- Franco, Cleiton and Nishimura, Fabio, The Fiscal Effects of Mandatory Disclosure: Causal Evidence from Brazil’s Freedom of Information Act(2026), Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso
- Dhabhai, Defamation Laws in India: Balancing Reputation and Press Freedom in a Constitutional Democracy, (2026) Minnesota Journal of Business Law and Entrepreneurship
Next Week in the Courts
On Wednesday 20 May 2026, there will be applications in Picker v TEW KB-2023-003201.
On the same day, there will be a pre-trial review in Chanel Ltd v Skeen KB-2024-002470.
There will also be the hearing in CTY v Google KB-2026-000912.
On Thursday 21 May 2026, there will be a pre-action disclosure hearing in Amersi v BBC KB-2022-003244.
On the same day, there will be anonymity and jurisdiction applications in Tian v Refinitiv Ltd KB-2025-002016.
Reserved Judgments
Vince v Tice, heard 14 May 2026 (Lewison, Coulson and Warby LJJ)
Baroness Lawrence & ors v ANL, heard 19 January – 31 March 2026 (Nicklin 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)
This Round up was prepared by Colette Allen, the host of Newscast on Dr Thomas Bennett and Professor Paul Wragg’s The Media Law Podcast (@MediaLawPodcast).