Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has said Tech companies have had “more than enough time to get their house in order” ahead of tody’s announcement. However, Andy Burrows, chief executive of the Molly Rose Foundation which was set up in memory of Molly Russell, told BBC Breakfast he would be “dismayed” if the UK was to enforce a similar ban as the evidence “doesn’t support” it. The White House has urged the UK not to impose a social media ban for under-16s, saying such restrictions could impose a “disproportionate” burden on US tech firms.
On Wednesday 10 June 2926, Ofcom warned online platforms of possible legal consequences if their services are used to incite violence and spread hatred linked to recent civil unrest in Belfast, following a knife attack in the city.
Technology minister Liz Kendall said she had asked Ofcom to “discuss urgently” with Elon Musk’s X, as well as other platforms, how they would comply with Britain’s Online Safety Act. Reuters has more information here.
Former BBC journalist Barnie Choudhury will not have to pay incurred costs of £14,270 over a Freedom of Information Act request. The Judicial Appointments Committee (JAC) filed a costs application against Choudhury for acting “unreasonably” in pursuing enforcement action after it failed to comply with a tribunal order to disclose information requested in an FOI. Following a first-tier tribunal hearing on 29 April, the JAC’s application for recovery of its own legal costs against Choudhury was refused. However, the tribunal found Choudhury to have acted unreasonably “in the conduct of the proceedings”, so his legal counsel agreed to withdraw his application for costs against the JAC. The Press Gazette has more information here.
The ICO has made temporary changes to the governance around how the Information Commissioner’s responsibilities are carried out. This follows the completion of an independent workplace investigation relating to John Edwards, the Information Commissioner. The watchdog has not provided any details of the specific allegations against the commissioner. The investigation has found there is a case to answer. The Commissioner will now be temporarily unable to act in fulfilling his responsibilities for the remainder of the process. As the Information Commissioner is accountable to Parliament, and not employed by the ICO, the next steps will be determined by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. The Commissioner voluntarily stepped back from his duties on 26 February to enable the investigation to take place. He continued to receive updates through his immediate support team on the work of the office and was available should his contribution be required. Read the full ICO statement here. Computer Weekly and Public Technology have more information.
Internet and Social Media
The LSE Media Blog has an article arguing against banning children from social media. The piece argues that the case against children’s access to social media is not just about online harms, but about the steady narrowing of what childhood is allowed to become.
DLA Piper has an article on the changing regulatory landscape of the protection of children online. The piece uses two recent enforcement decisions by the UK Information Commissioner (ICO) concerning failures to safeguard children’s personal data online to highlight the regulatory priority to strengthen the protection of children’s information in the digital environment.
Data Privacy and Data Protection
The Wall Street Journal has an article on the new generation of robots designed to have pet-like qualities, which leverage AI to learn about their owners to make emotional connections. The article sets out the privacy and security concerns this technology presents.
The ICO has published a statement responding to the Government’s announcement it is launching the advisory AI Growth Lab, which will bring together regulators to give AI innovators and adopters clear, practical information on how existing regulations apply to novel AI applications.
Artificial Intelligence
Privacy International (PI) has published the results of its study into AI coding assistants, finding that each product in the review to be riddled with hidden flaws ranging from broken cryptography, insecure data handling, and misleading outputs. PI found privacy and security risks were significant, especially for sensitive data and users unable to audit the output.
Newspapers Journalism and Regulation
Hacked Off has an article analysing the impact a particular right-wing think tank has had in promoting questionable analysis by UK Newspapers. The piece explains how unreliable and dubious statistics are presented to manipulate facts and promote certain political narratives.
IPSO
- 04423-25 Moshelian v The National, 1 Accuracy, No breach – after investigation
- 05169-25 Moosun v thejc.com, 1 Accuracy, No breach – after investigation
- 06095-25 Knight v The Times, 1 Accuracy, Breach – sanction: publication of correction
- Resolution Statement – 00142-26 Ellis v dailyrecord.co.uk, 1 Accuracy, 2 Privacy, 4 Intrusion into grief or shock, 6 Children, Resolved – IPSO mediation
- Resolution Statement – 00143-26 Ellis v mirror.co.uk, 1 Accuracy, 2 Privacy, 4 Intrusion into grief or shock, 6 Children, Resolved – IPSO mediation
- Resolution Statement – 00144-26 Ellis v glasgowlive.co.uk, 1 Accuracy, 2 Privacy, 4 Intrusion into grief or shock, 6 Children, Resolved – IPSO mediation
- Resolution Statement – 00145-26 Ellis v dailystar.co.uk, 1 Accuracy, 2 Privacy, 4 Intrusion into grief or shock, 6 Children, Resolved – IPSO mediation
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 and one Harassment claim filed on the media and communications list last week.
Last Week in the Courts
On Monday 8 June 2026 Linden J heard the trial of a preliminary issue in the case of Kaur v Fox KB-2025-001497.
On Tuesday 9 June 2026 there was a trial in the case of Chanel Ltd v Skeens KB-2024-002470 before Steyn J.
On Wednesday 10 June 2026 there was the hearing of a committal application in the case of Aslani v Sobierajska QB-2020-004166.
On Friday 12 June 2026 there was a hearing of a strike out application in the case of Graveley v Schestowitz KB-2024-003529.
Media Law in Other Jurisdictions
Australia
Independent senator David Pocock publicly warned that Australia is inadequately prepared for AI’s social and economic effects and called for stronger governance measures. The Guardian has more information here.
Canada
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has found X Corp and xAI violated the country’s federal private-sector privacy law by launching the Grok AI-powered image generation tool without appropriate safeguards. GrokAL allowed users to create and share more than 6,000 sexualised deepfake images per hour. IAPP and Reuters have more information.
The Canadian Government has introduced legislation to make social media services and AI chatbots safer for children. The new legislation introduces a ban on social media use for children under 16. The ban is framed as a “temporary” measure with the prospect that the can re-establish service after a new digital regulator certifies that they meet its safety standards. Reuters has a summary of the new legislation here. The Michael Geist blog raises the privacy concerns and explains how this turns the government’s AI for All strategy into ID for All. He also explains how the ban puts Canada on a collision course with the US.
Russia
Russia is taking steps to make its already sophisticated digital surveillance systems faster, more automated and better integrated across the country’s internet infrastructure. Known as SORM, the platform gives Russia’s security and intelligence agencies access to telephone calls, internet traffic and other electronic communications passing through domestic networks. New regulations published by Russia’s Ministry of Digital Development has updated the technical standards governing SORM. The Record has more information here.
United States
Title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) is set to expire at midnight on 14 June 2026 after Congress failed to pass an extension of the controversial spying law. But that doesn’t mean the government’s spying powers will disappear. Surveillance under Section 702 of FISA “operates under yearlong certifications approved by the FISA Court,” the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law explained this week. The current certification will remain in place until March 2027 under the yearlong certification issued by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on March 17, 2026. ArsTechnica has more information here.
AT&T and Verizon lost an attempt to overturn fines for selling users’ real-time location data without consent, as the Supreme Court ruled on 9 June 2026 that the Federal Communications Commission process for issuing financial penalties did not violate the right to a jury trial. AT&T and Verizon were fined a total of $104 million by the FCC in 2024 for violations revealed in 2018. The carriers paid their fines and challenged them in circuit appeals courts, where judges’ panels ruled on the cases. Carriers claimed this system deprived them of the Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial. ArsTechnica has more information here.
Research and Resources
- Okorie, The Rise Of Digital Influencers In Nigeria: Making A Case For The Protection Of Personality And Image Rights In Nigeria (2026), Afe Babalola University
- Yi Lin, Generative AI and the Right to Privacy in Myanmar (2026), Bank of America – New York
- Dov Fox, Freedom of Speech and Standards of Care (2026) San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 26-018
- Bogus, Why New York Times v. Sullivan Must Be Preserved (2026) Roger Williams Univ. Legal Studies Paper No. 228
- Richards, Privacy Is Not Theft (2026) Stanford Public Law Working Paper
Next Week in the Courts
On Tuesday 16 June 2026 there will be a trial of a preliminary issue in the case of Drabble v Bramhill KB-2025-004185.
On Tuesday 17 June 2026 there will be a PTR in the privacy case of DBA v Altaii and another QB-2020-003567.
On Wednesday 18 June 2026 the part heard application in the breach of confidence case of Ahluwalia v Verma and others KB-2023-001466 will continue. There will also be a contempt application in the case of Pattinson v Winsor KB-2024-000256.
On Thursday 19 June 2026 there will be a return date hearing in the case of Cancer Services and another v Airedale NHS Foundation Trust KB-2026-001977.
Reserved Judgments
Kaur v Fox , heard 8 June 2026 (Linden J)
Bridgen v Hancock, heard 20 May 2026 (King, Warby and Whipple LJJ)
Vince v Tice, heard 14 May 2026 (Lewison, Coulson and Warby LJJ)
Baroness Lawrence & ors v ANL, heard 19 January to 31 March 2026 (Nicklin 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).