The Trinity Legal Term ends on Friday 31 July 2026.  The summer legal vacation will run until Thursday 1 October 2026 when the Michaelmas Legal Term will begin.

On 23 July 2026, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (Lady Carmichael, Chamberlain J and Mr Shaw KC) handed down judgment in Kearney and BBC v Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and ors [2026] UKIPTrib 4. The claim was brought by the BBC and Vincent Kearney over the unlawful accessing of Mr Kearney’s communications data by numerous law enforcement bodies. The IPT has ordered MI5 and the Police Service of Northern Ireland to pay £10,000 in damages to the journalist Vincent Kearney for multiple unlawful authorisations to access his mobile phone’s communications data over the course of many years. At the time, Mr Kearney was the BBC Northern Ireland Home Affairs Correspondent and was also working for BBC Spotlight. The IPT found that the authorisations, which were aimed at identifying journalistic sources, were unlawful (as the law enforcement bodies had conceded) and also disproportionate, concluding they were unlawful interferences with both Mr Kearney’s Article 8 and Article 10 ECHR rights and also the BBC’s own Article 10 rights. Paragraphs [4-9] contain a clear and helpful summary on the law on the protection of confidential journalistic sources. 5RB has more information here. The Press Gazette has more information here.

Internet and Social Media

Clean Up the Internet has a post setting out the four ways that Andy Burnham’s new government could reset the UK’s approach to regulating social media. Read their recommendations here.

Privacy and Data Protection

The Information Commissioner’s Office has a post exploring public views on neurotechnology and data via the Citizens’ Jury. The Citizens’ Jury brings a small, diverse group of the public together to learn about a complex issue from specialists. Neurotechnology is developing quickly, from medical treatments and wellbeing tools to workplace safety and future consumer products. Used well, it could support people to manage health conditions, improve wellbeing, reduce risk in safety-critical jobs and open up new markets for UK innovators. The ICO’s joint report with the Centre for Collective Intelligence presents findings from a Citizens’ Jury with members of the UK public, exploring their views on neurotechnology and neurodata.

Artificial Intelligence

Substack has partnered with AI plagiarism checker Pangram to introduce a new ‘scan for AI text’ feature. On any Substack post published after 4.30pm on the 21 of July 2026, readers can now select the “scan for AI text” tile from the drop-down menu in the top right corner of the web version and it will give the percentage of AI content in the article. Substack co-founder and CEO Chris Best said in an article announcing the move that lack of journalistic transparency around AI usage “undermines trust in authorship and threatens the livelihoods of writers.” The Press Gazette has more information here.

Surveillance

The Whalesbook Blog has an article on the figure known as Phineas Fisher, a persistent hacktivist who has managed to remain anonymous while targeting firms that develop surveillance software. Over the past decade, this individual or group has successfully breached high-profile entities, often releasing internal data to expose what they characterize as unethical business practices. These actions have moved beyond simple digital vandalism, sometimes resulting in permanent damage to the companies involved.

Newspapers, Journalism and Regulation

Musician Tulisa, mother of the late presenter Caroline Flack, Christine, and Hillsborough campaigners Margaret Aspinall and Sue Roberts have joined a group of other victims of misconduct to demand action on press abuse from the new PM Andy Burnham. The Open Letter has been published on the Hacked Off website here.

In another Open Letter, Hacked Off Board Director Mandy Garner has urged Andy Burnham to turn his own warnings about the British state’s ‘dangerous’ lack of accountability into action — on the press, the criminal justice system and the public inquiries whose recommendations keep being kicked down the road.

IPSO

Statements in Open Court and Apologies

On 17 July 2026, the Daily Mail published an apology to Anna Melton, a former journalist who now works in public relations.  The article complained of was presented as a confessional piece by-lined by Anna Melton indicating that she had taken cocaine at a child’s birthday party.  This allegation was entirely false and it caused serious reputational harm.  The Daily Mail initially sought to defend the claim on the basis that the article and the by-line were fictitious and they had been simply made up by their journalist.  The Claimant issued libel proceedings, relying on the ‘Artemus Jones’ principle established by the landmark defamation case of E. Hulton & Co. v Jones [1910], in which the House of Lords held that the intention of the publisher is no defence if the ordinary reader would reasonably identify the Claimant as the subject of the allegations. In addition to this apology, ANL has agreed to pay Anna Melton substantial damages and her legal costs.

New Issued Cases

There was one harassment claim filed on the Media and Communication list last week.

Last Week in the Courts

On Wednesday 22 July 2026 there was a hearing in the libel case of Picker v TEW KB-2023-003201.

On the same day there was a hearing in the case of Tooley v Times Media Limited  KB-2025-004496.

On Thursday 23 July 2026 there were hearings in the libel cases of Mkrtchyan v 2TROM MEDIA GROUP Ltd KB-2025-001365 and Akhtar v News Group Newspapers Limited KB-2026-000749 and in the case of PHJ v UBV.

As mentioned above, on the same day, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (Lady Carmichael, Chamberlain J and Mr Shaw KC) handed down judgment in Kearney and BBC v Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and ors [2026] UKIPTrib 4.

On Friday 24 July 2026 there was a consequentials hearing before Fancourt J in the managed MNHL litigation Sculfor and others v MGN.  The judge dismissed MGN’s application in relation to common costs but awarded indemnity costs in two out of three cases in which applications were made.

Media Law in Other Jurisdictions

Canada

Last week, the government announced that Canada has signed the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime, with Ministers Anita Anand, Gary Anandasangaree and Sean Fraser touting the treaty’s child protection provisions and human rights safeguards, which were described as “among the strongest found in an international criminal justice treaty.” The Michael Geist blog explains how the convention is not primarily a cybercrime treaty at all, but rather a sweeping cross-border surveillance and electronic evidence-sharing agreement that Canada originally opposed, that leading human rights groups and twenty Canadian organizations and experts urged the government to reject, and that key allies have thus far declined to sign. The post seeks to answer three questions: what is this treaty, what are the risks, and what, if anything, changed since the original objection nine months ago?

France

On 21 July 2026, the French Parliament approved legislation blocking minors under age 15 from accessing social media platforms. The ban marks the first to be approved among EU member states, with other governments working through proposals. The European Commission is also developing proposals for EU-wide age-based restrictions and child-safety measures for social platforms. IAPP has more information here.

Singapore

Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Commission released its Advisory Guidelines on the Use of Personal Data in Generative AI, detailing transparency and risk management obligations associated with artificial intelligence system development. The PDPC’s guidance covered key data protection questions while clarifying best practices for an organization’s use of personal data throughout the “generative AI lifecycle.”

United States

A leaked document shows the spread of surveillance and investigative capabilities that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials have access to agency wide, from location data harvested from smartphones, to facial recognition apps that can reveal someone’s identity, to tools that let the agency stay anonymous online and approach people undercover. The document covers everything from monitoring social media to tracking the movements of vehicles. 404 Media has more information here.

The US Justice Department is prosecuting an American for allegedly providing US border authorities with a passcode that wiped the contents of his phone. This is thought to be the first known case in the US where federal prosecutors have charged someone for the alleged destruction of data using a “duress” password built into a phone’s software. TechCrunch and the Guardian have more information.

Research and Resources

Next week in the courts

On 29 and 30 July 2026 there will be a hearing in the case of Baroness Lawrence and Ors v Associated Newspapers before Nicklin J to consider the judgment and consequential orders.

Reserved Judgments

Bridgen v Hancock, heard 20 May 2026 (King, Warby and Whipple LJJ)

Colette Allen is the host of Newscast on Dr Thomas Bennett and Professor Paul Wragg’s The Media Law Podcast (@MediaLawPodcast).