This post covers developments since the last weekly Law and Media Round Up on 3 August 2026.  The summer legal vacation will run until Thursday 1 October 2026 when the Michaelmas Legal Term will begin. Our next weekly round up will be on 5 October 2026.

One important media law judgment has been delivered over the summer vacation. On 21 August 2026, Nicklin J handed down judgement in the case of Baroness Lawrence and ors v Associated Newspapers [2026] EWHC 2207 (KB). The Judge ruled that the claimants in the phone-hacking case against Associated Newspapers, who included Prince Harry, Baroness Doreen Lawrence and Sir Elton John, must pay the publisher’s legal costs on an indemnity basis, with an interim payment of £9.54 million and no cap on the final amount. Nicklin J criticised the claimants’ legal teams for pursuing serious allegations with weak evidence and described their conduct as “unreasonable to a high degree”, following his earlier ruling that none of the 97 allegations against the publisher had been proven. The BBC, The Guardian, The Press Gazette, The Independent, The Telegraph, PBS, The Standard, and Reuters reported on the ruling. 5RB has a summary.

The Upper Tribunal upheld the First-tier Tribunal’s ruling on a preliminary issue in the appeal of TikTok Inc v Information Commissioner [2026] UKUT 277 (AAC). The FTT had held that the ICO had acted within its powers in issuing a monetary penalty notice (MPN) of £12.7 million to TikTok in April 2023 on the basis that the company had processed children’s data unlawfully and published defective privacy notices. TikTok appealed the MPN, claiming that the processing was conducted for special ‘artistic’ purposes. The UT dismissed the appeal, finding that whilst much of TikTok’s content was artistic, the company’s data processing did not take place for special artistic purposes, but rather for the purpose of sharing users’ video content on the platform. 5RB and Monckton Chambers have summaries. Read the ICO’s statement here.

Reform UK MPs, Nigel Farage and Richard Tice, are suing the National Crime Agency (NCA) over alleged leaks of confidential financial information to the media. The politicians claim that the agency leaked “individual bank statements, bank transfers, details of conversations with bank managers from different banks” and are seeking an apology and damages. The media reported that payments made by the mother of convicted fraudster George Cottrell had been flagged to the NCA under Suspicious Activity Reports. The NCA’s Professional Standards Unit is conducting its own investigation to determine responsibility for the alleged leak, however Farage and Tice have filed the claim in the meantime. The BBC, The Guardian, The Telegraph, London Evening Standard and The Financial Times covered the story.

More than 60,000 people have been arrested in the UK over the past five years for communications offences, raising concerns about over-zealous policing and the potential chilling effect on free speech, according to The Daily Mail. A report by Big Brother Watch highlights significant disparities in enforcement between police forces, citing cases such as a vulnerable teenager being investigated over a TikTok post she did not create with the matter ultimately resulting in no further action.

Internet and Social Media

In settlement of claims that alleged its platforms were designed to be addictive and harmful to children, Meta has agreed with nearly all US states to pay $18 billion over the next decade. The company will also impose strict limits on teenagers’ use of Facebook and Instagram, including a two-hour daily cap, overnight restrictions without parental consent and reduced school-hour notifications. While Meta denies wrongdoing and will retain personalised recommendations and targeted advertising, the landmark settlement could set a precedent for thousands of similar lawsuits and broader global efforts to protect children online. BBC, Reuters, NYT, The Guardian, FT, The Washington Post, The Telegraph, Al Jazeera, The Times and Tech Policy Press have more information.

The government urged social media platforms to remove content glorifying dangerous driving and take action to prevent its distribution, following the deaths of two police officers and five passengers in a crash near Middlesbrough. TikTok and Meta said they prohibit and remove content promoting reckless driving as it breaches their own policies, however such posts are not necessarily illegal under the Online Safety Act. The BBC, The Independent, The Times and The London Evening Standard covered the development.

TikTok and ByteDance have agreed to pay $400 million to settle a US lawsuit alleging they violated privacy laws. In 2024, the US Department of Justice claimed that the company breached the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by collecting personal information from users under 13 without parental consent. The settlement is one of the largest ever in a child privacy case. Read the DoJ’s press release here. BBC, The Guardian, PBS, Sky News and Al Jazeera covered the agreement.

Data privacy and data protection

The ICO has issued a reprimand and enforcement notice against the Metropolitan Police Service after two serious data breaches exposed a stalking victim’s confidential contact details to their alleged stalker and revealed the identities of people linked to a sensitive criminal investigation. The regulator found “serious and ongoing shortcomings” in the force’s data protection training.

The ICO also reprimanded ACRO Criminal Records Office after cybersecurity weaknesses allowed a hacker to gain unauthorised access to its systems between August 2022 and March 2023. The breach potentially exposed more than 10,000 people’s personal information, including financial, identity, biometric and criminal offence information relating to certificate applicants, subject access request applicants and associated third parties. Read the reprimand in full here.

The Regulator also fined Elderly Aids Ltd £190,000 for targeting older people with over 750,000 unsolicited direct marketing calls. The complaints received by the ICO documented the company’s aggressive, misleading and opaque practices. During the investigation, the company also sought to avoid security by ignoring requests for information and trying to remove its record from the Companies House register.

Surveillance

Former mayoral candidate and businessman, Arron Banks faced calls to reveal the extent of his alleged surveillance of journalists after appearing to admit to The New Statesman that he hired private investigators to examine a Sunday Times reporter investigating Reform UK. When the New Statesman put the allegations to Banks, he stated “When you live by the sword, you die by the sword.” The News Media Association, Index on Censorship and several politicians condemned the alleged tactics as a threat to press freedom and democracy, warning they could intimidate journalists and discourage legitimate scrutiny of public figures.   The Guardian and The Times have more information.

Newspaper journalism and regulation

IPSO dismissed Angela Rayner’s complaint against The Sun on Sunday over alleged privacy and harassment breaches, finding that the publication of a photograph of Rayner and her partner in public did not constitute an unjustified intrusion. Despite earlier privacy notices concerning photographers congregating outside her homes, IPSO concluded that the image revealed no private information, was taken away from her home, involved no children, and was published in the context of significant political developments. The Press Gazette has more information.

The NUJ has warned that a Home Office guide for asylum seekers could create confusion and hostility towards journalists by wrongly implying that taking photographs of people in public without their consent is generally illegal and punishable by prison. The booklet failed to distinguish between the crime of taking or sharing sexual images without consent and generally taking photos of people in public, which journalists are often required to do. The Press Gazette covered the story.

IPSO is reviewing a high volume of complaints concerning coverage of former Cambridge professor Jason Arday following his death, according to The Press Gazette. Many of the complaints relate to accuracy under Clause 1 of the Editors’ Code. The complaints follow media reports which alleged that the academic had plagiarised his work and exaggerated his achievements, whilst Arday’s family criticised what it described as a prolonged campaign of harassment targeting him. Read IPSO’s statement here.

Artificial intelligence

A new report alleges that OpenAI AI agents took over a community-edited programming site, DseWiki, in May, months before the company disclosed the separate high-profile breach of Hugging Face in July. AI Agents made around 15,000 edits to DseWiki, shared methods to evade detection and created code to restore deleted pages. OpenAI said it could not assess the latest allegations without access to the report.

IPSO Rulings

Statements in open court and apologies

We are not aware of any statements in open court or apologies in the past month.

New issued cases

There were 12 new defamation (libel and slander), two breach of confidence, one misuse of private information and two miscellaneous claims issued in the Media and Communications List in the last month.

Last month in the courts

As already mentioned, on 21 August 2026, Nicklin J handed down judgement in the case of Baroness Lawrence and ors v Associated Newspapers [2026] EWHC 2207 (KB).

Media law in other jurisdictions

Canada

Outgoing Mayor of Coquitlam is suing Metro Vancouver and its chief administrative officer, alleging they wrongly implied he was involved in a 2022 confidentiality breach connected to the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant. The plaintiff claims the regional district’s investigation was biased, damaged his reputation, and contributed to his removal from Metro Vancouver’s board of directors. CBC and Business in Vancouver have more information.

France

The Constitutional Council blocked a proposed ban on social media for children under 15, ruling that the law disproportionately restricted freedom of expression and failed to provide sufficient privacy safeguards around age verification. The law was approved by Parliament in July and President Macron remains committed to enacting the reform before spring 2027. The Guardian, Politico, BBC, France 24, Reuters, The Times, Tech Policy Press and Bloomberg reported on the ruling.

Norway

Norway is considering restrictions on camera-enabled smart glasses and other wearable devices amid growing privacy concerns. Digital Minister Karianne Tung announced the government plans to consult experts on strengthening privacy protections, particularly given the potential use of smart glasses for surveillance and facial recognition in public places. TechCrunch, BGR, The Daily Star, EuroNews covered the development.

United States

Flock Safety’s AI-powered licence-plate cameras are facing a rare bipartisan backlash due to growing concerns over privacy, police misuse and the scale of the company’s nationwide surveillance network. Over 100 local jurisdictions have cancelled or declined to renew Flock contracts and Republican and Democratic politicians are pushing to restrict their use amid rising public opposition. The Guardian, BBC, ABC and NPR have more information.

Press freedom defenders have raised concerns after Louisiana Supreme Court justice Jefferson Hughes was awarded US$300,000 in damages following his libel trial against the newspaper, Advocate. The paper published a headline stating that the Judge had “made a mockery of justice,” however as Hughes is a public figure, he was required to prove “actual malice.” Critics warn that such costly verdicts could discourage media organisations from critically reporting on powerful individuals and institutions due to fear of legal and financial consequences. The Guardian and The Hill covered the ruling.

Research and resources

This Round Up was compiled by Jasleen Chaggar who is the Senior Legal and Policy Officer at Big Brother Watch.