The International Forum for Responsible Media Blog
The U.S. has the largest number of surveillance cameras per person in the world. Cameras are omnipresent on city streets and in hotels, restaurants, malls and offices. They’re also used to screen passengers for the Transportation Security Administration. And then there are smart doorbells and other home security cameras. Continue reading
In many busy households around the world, it’s not uncommon for children to shout out directives to Apple’s Siri or Amazon’s Alexa. They may make a game out of asking the voice-activated personal assistant (VAPA) what time it is, or requesting a popular song. While this may seem like a mundane part of domestic life, there is much more going on. Continue reading
On 7 July 2022, the Law Commission published its final report on intimate image abuse (IIA), with recommendations to create a comprehensive criminal offence that provides effective protection against all manifestations of IIA. The report should be commended for addressing the existing sporadic IIA offences which are not fit for purpose and leave many instances of abuse unpunished. Continue reading
While the recently introduced Bill of Rights Bill [pdf] appears to weaken the judicial protection of fundamental rights in some respects, the government claims the Bill will strengthen the right to freedom of speech. Continue reading
Every so often stories of genetic theft, or extreme precautions taken to avoid it, make headline news. So it was with a picture of French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin sitting at opposite ends of a very long table after Macron declined to take a Russian PCR COVID-19 test. Many speculated that Macron refused due to security concerns that the Russians would take and use his DNA for nefarious purposes. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz similarly refused to take a Russian PCR COVID-19 test. Continue reading
Since last year, Warren v DSG Retail has proved a thorn in the side of those bringing claims arising out of external cyber-attacks – appearing, at least, to bar such Claimants from relying on the torts of negligence and misuse of private information (MPI), as well as breach of confidence. That appearance was confirmed to be reality by Saini J in Graeme Smith & ors v TalkTalk Telecom Group plc [2022] EWHC 1311 (QB). Continue reading
When Politico published Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion that would undo Roe v. Wade, a number of commentators observed how hard it would be for women in states that had made abortion illegal to safely travel to abortion clinics elsewhere. Their phones’ location histories would give them away, or maybe their search histories would. Even their texts might do so. Continue reading
There was a substantial increase in the number of new claims issued in the Media and Communications List of the Queen’s Bench Division (“the M&C List”) in 2021. A total of 564 new claims were issued, a 50% increase on the number of claims issued in 2020 (373). For the first time, over 50% of all new claims were in data protection. Continue reading
Have you ever felt a creeping sensation that someone’s watching you? Then you turn around and you don’t see anything out of the ordinary. Depending on where you were, though, you might not have been completely imagining it. There are billions of things sensing you every day. They are everywhere, hidden in plain sight – inside your TV, fridge, car and office. These things know more about you than you might imagine, and many of them communicate that information over the internet. Continue reading
In the case of IVT v Romania ([2022] ECHR 189) the Fourth Section of the European Court of Human Rights found that the domestic courts had breached an 11 year old ‘s Article 8 rights in dismissing her claim based on the broadcast of an television interview which had been conducted without obtaining parental consent. Although the child’s face was blurred she was still identifiable on the broadcast. The Court emphasised that parental consent was not a mere formality but was an important safeguard for the rights of children. Continue reading
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