The case concerned a hearing from which the journalist was excluded without an effective opportunity to challenge the closure before it occurred. A later legal challenge could not restore the lost opportunity to observe and report on the hearing. The BBC, National and STV News cover the ruling.
A person described in court as a “well-known individual” is seeking a permanent injunction to prevent The Guardian and ITN from publishing serious allegations concerning his conduct towards several people over a number of years. The individual has been granted anonymity in the proceedings after medical evidence shown to the court indicated that if the allegations were made public, he would “almost certainly” attempt to take his own life. The BBC, Guardian, Times and Metro have more information.
Sally Rooney has said she is being forced to withdraw her books from sale in the UK because of her support for the banned organisation Palestine Action. The Irish novelist, whose books include Normal People and Conversations With Friends, said her public support for the group meant she could no longer receive royalties from UK sales. After Palestine Action was banned last year, Rooney said she would use proceeds from her sales to support Palestine Action. Supporting organisations banned under the Terrorism Act is an offence and she subsequently cancelled a trip to the UK to pick up an award, for fear of arrest. The Guardian has more information here.
The National Union of Journalists (NJU) has issued a statement following the arrest of numerous journalists at a Palestine Action protest in Leicestershire on 8 October 2026.
No further action will be taken against Sarah Helm, the wife of the Prime Minister’s national security adviser Jonathan Powell, after she was accused of supporting Palestine Action. Helm, a journalist and author, posted on X on 15 October 2026: “God help us authors who support Palestine and Palestine Action.” The Metropolitan police said the post was “in the process of being assessed to determine whether any further police investigation may be required”. In an update on 17 October 2026, a force spokesperson said: “The post was assessed by specialist officers and it was determined that it did not meet the criminal threshold. No further police action will be taken.” The Guardian has more information here.
Privacy International (PI) has published its global report on the authoritarian use of technology. PI explains how governments around the world are increasingly using technology to monitor populations, suppress dissent and weaken human rights. The article points out that this is not limited to authoritarian states as democratic governments also deploy technology in ways that undermine privacy, freedom of expression and the rule of law.
Internet and Social Media
The LSE Media Blog has published a brief history of the evolving classification of online risk to children and explores the challenge of developing definitions in a time of continual change caused by generative AI. The piece explains how conversational chatbots to new forms of personalised content is reshaping children’s digital experiences and the risks they may encounter.
The EFF blog has an article that explores how age verification laws impact the right to information. Age verification laws are predicated on the necessity of users possessing a current passport, driver’s license, credit card, or similar documents proving their identity exclude critical sections of populations. And this problem is global in nature: Millions of people lack government-issued identification or encounter regular challenges to obtaining or updating it.
Data privacy and data protection
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) have issued a reprimand and enforcement notice to the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) after finding that its officers and staff shared personal information using an unapproved third-party retail crime intelligence-sharing platform without appropriate data protection safeguards, governance or oversight. MPS officers and staff used the platform between March 2023 and September 2024, despite it not being formally approved for use by the force. Around 500 accounts were created, with 375 actively used for policing activities. The investigation found that between January and September 2024 personal information relating to 179 people, three of whom were under the age of 18, was uploaded to the platform as part of efforts to identify individuals suspected of shoplifting. Read the ICO press release here.
Art, Music and Copyright
IPKat has an article that explores if an AI-generated digital replica of an existing product infringes EU design rights, even if no physical copy is ever made. The article argues the revised EU Design Regulation may provide a basis for treating virtual replicas as infringing products in their own right, even when no physical reproduction is intended.
Newspaper journalism and regulation
The Media Reform Coalition has an article responding to the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee Report on the next BBC’s Royal Charter, which is due in 2028. While the MRC believes this review is a crucial opportunity to reform how the BBC is funded, governed and held accountable to the public, it ultimately finds that the committee has not gone far enough. Read the statement and analysis of the Commons Select Committee’s report on BBC Charter Review here.
Eight UK national newspapers ranging from The Guardian to The Sun have urged the Prime Minister to back legislation aimed at outlawing deceptive AI bots. The Automated Online Software (Access and Transparency) Bill would require bots accessing UK websites to declare who operates them and how to contact them, and why they plan to use the content – for example for search indexing or AI training. This would allow website owners to see who is taking their content, turn away those who won’t pay, and give AI companies who use publisher content an incentive to strike fair deals. The Press Gazette has more information here.
Artificial intelligence
The ICO has published a report following its scrutiny of ten of the world’s largest AI foundation model developers operating in the UK. The report sets out the ICO’s regulatory positions on how UK data protection law applies to AI foundation model development and signals certain areas where the ICO expects stronger compliance measures. The Privacy and Cybersecurity Law Blog provides a summary here.
The IAPP blog has an article exploring whether AI-generated false statements (aka ‘hallucinations’) about real people breach the EU GDPR. It highlights that not every false statement generated by AI automatically constitutes personal data under the GDPR. Before deciding whether a hallucination violates data protection law, it is necessary to establish whether the statement qualifies as personal data in the first place.
IPSO rulings
- 03304-25 Ryan v dailymail.co.uk, 1 Accuracy, 2 Privacy, 4 Intrusion into grief or shock, Breach – sanction: publication of correction
- 06512-25 Edwards v Daily Mail, 1 Accuracy, 2 Privacy, No breach – after investigation
- 00511-26 River Clyde Homes v Greenock Telegraph, 1 Accuracy, No breach – after investigation
- 01099-26 Watson v Eastern Daily Press, 1 Accuracy, Breach – sanction: publication of correction
- 01429-26 Cullen v The Daily Telegraph, 1 Accuracy, Breach – sanction: action as offered by publication
- 06318-25 Yü Group Plc v nottinghampost.com, 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 were two defamation (libel and slander) claims and one misuse of private information claims filed on the media and communications list last week.
Last week in the courts
On 12 October 2026 Eardley J handed down judgment on meaning in relation to two online reviews in Paul Little Construction Ltd v Byrne [2026] EWHC 2577 (KB). On the first review, the judge agreed with the claimant that the headline broadened the criticism into a general attack on the company’s competence and reliability. He agreed with the defendant that this wider attack was presented as an opinion “firmly rooted in the Defendant’s own experiences” [32]. He rejected the defendant’s case that every defamatory element was opinion, holding that the statements about the cost of the corrective work and the unhonoured promise were factual [33] and that the review was not defamatory at common law [34]. On the second review, the fact or opinion question was “closer to the line” because no photographs of the work were attached [37]. He again held the statement about the cost of corrective work to be factual and the review to be defamatory at common law [38] and [39]. Eardley J then commented that it was “dispiriting” to see litigation over online reviews in the High Court with all the associated costs [41]. He encouraged the parties to engage in mediation or other alternative dispute resolution [41] and drew their attention to Sharif v Associated Newspapers Ltd [2021] EWHC 343 (QB) at [41]-[47], where Nicklin J indicated that the usual order after a TPI of this nature should be costs in the case.
On 13 October 2026 Guy Vassall-Adams KC heard an application in the libel case of Rixon v Barley KB-2025-001034
On 14 October 2026 Guy Vassall-Adams KC heard an application in the libel case of Smith v Shaw KB-2025-003266.
Media law in other jurisdictions
Australia
The Alliance for Intellectual Property, representing creative-sector interests including the Premier League and film distributors, warned the Australian government against proposals that could allow AI developers to train models on copyrighted works in return for a prescribed payment, unless creators opt out. The Australian has more information here.
The Guardian has published an investigation into the trend that sees influencers who approach unsuspecting members of the public with provocative questions, then publish confrontational exchanges designed to generate engagement and outrage. The report focuses on Australian examples, including anti-abortion street interviews. People filmed described feeling ambushed or misrepresented, while academics and privacy experts raised concerns about the legal and ethical implications of publishing this material.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Council of Europe supported a two-day training programme in Neum, Bosnia and Herzegovina, where 26 lawyers examined ways to strengthen legal protection for journalists and challenge strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs). The discussions covered European human rights standards, identifying abusive litigation and using available legal safeguards to protect journalists and freedom of expression.
Canada
Saskatchewan has brought its new Defamation Act into force, replacing the province’s century-old Libel and Slander Act of 1909. The reform updates the province’s framework for defamation in an era of online publishing, social media and digital journalism. Mondaq has more information here.
An Aurora resident has sued the Mayor after allegedly being blocked from his Facebook and Instagram accounts following critical comments about his record. The lawsuit, filed in Ontario Superior Court on 13 October 2026, seeks $20,000 in damages and an order restoring access. The claimant argues that the accounts are used to discuss public affairs and that blocking residents restricts their freedom of expression. The mayor’s position is that the accounts are personal rather than official municipal communication channels. Bradford Today has more information here.
Turkey
Turkish authorities have raided the headquarters of Halk TV, a prominent broadcaster critical of the government, as part of an investigation into alleged bid-rigging, bribery and money laundering. The Committee to Protect Journalists called for the broadcaster to be returned to its staff and for the authorities to stop actions that it said threatened independent reporting. AP News has more information here.
United States
The BBC asked a Florida court to compel Donald Trump to attend a deposition in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the broadcaster. The case concerns a Panorama documentary that edited together portions of Trump’s 6 January 2021 speech. The BBC acknowledged the editing error and apologised but denies that it defamed Trump. BBC lawyers said Trump had cancelled an agreed deposition date and proposed dates in January 2027, after the scheduled close of discovery in December. AP News has more information here.
Research and Resources
- Jansen, A scalar mismatch: the IETF’s sustainability approaches in a framework of infinite growth and abundance (2026) Internet Policy Review 15.4
- Neely, Artificial Intelligence, Synthetic Media and Trust in the Information Ecosystem: Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression (2026), submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, call for inputs on strategic priorities
- Salomão De Oliveira, Regulating the Process, Not the Proposition: Freedom of Expression, Disinformation and Electoral Integrity in Digital Democracies (2026), Brazilian Bar Association – Primary São Paulo Section
- Howell, and Potgieter, Age-verification mechanisms and age restrictions versus proportionality, privacy and freedom of expression (2026), Victoria University of Wellington – University of South Africa (UNISA)
- Hughes, The “No Or Only A Low” Reasonable Expectation Of Privacy Test (2026), University of Cambridge Faculty of Law Research Paper Forthcoming
Next week in the courts
On Monday 19 October 2026, there will be a trial of a preliminary issue before Hill J in the libel case of Chandale v Sovereign Network Group & ors – KB-2026-000092
On Tuesday 20 October 2026, there will be a hearing in Hajdukova v Amazon UK Services Ltd & anor – QB-2020-003893
On Wednesday 21 October 2026, there will be a hearing in Senna v Scottish Daily Record and Sunday Mail Ltd – KB-2026-001121.
Reserved judgements
We are not aware of any reserved media law judgments.
This Round Up was compiled by Colette Allen who is a pupil barrister at 4 King’s Bench Walk and the host of ‘Newscast’ on Dr Thomas Bennett and Professor Paul Wragg’s The Media Law Podcast (@MediaLawPodcast).