The Online Harms White Paper proposes to subject companies that allow users to share or discover user-generated content or interact with each other online (“platforms”) to a new “duty of care”. The intention is to make platforms take more responsibility for protecting users against a variety of “online harms”. Read the rest of this entry »
Case Comment: Advertising Standards Authority v Mitchell, the Perils of the Misdirected Email – Oscar Davies
3 07 2019
The case of Advertising Standards Authority v Mitchell ([2019] EWHC 1469 (QB)) deals with the problem of a misdirected email. We have all sent an email to the wrong person, realising only moments after sending it. Warby J considers the perils of such a situation, and how the court may step in if the receiving party refuses to undertake not to use the information. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: ASA, Oscar Davies, Warby J
Categories : Caselaw, Injunction, Privacy
Explainer: what is surveillance capitalism and how does it shape our economy? – Donell Holloway
28 06 2019
I recently purchased a bedroom bundle (mattress, bed base, pillows and sheets) from a well known Australian startup for my son, who has flown the nest. Now I’m swamped with Google and Facebook ads for beds and bedding. The week before it was puffer jackets. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Donell Holloway, Surveillance Capitalism, The Conversation
Categories : Data Protection, Internet, Privacy
Did The Guardian misuse Boris Johnson’s private information, and could he sue? – Zoe McCallum
25 06 2019
The newspapers are once again replete with Boris Johnson’s private life. Last weekend he rowed loudly with his girlfriend. Neighbours overheard. She shouted “get off me”, “get out of my flat”, “you’re spoilt”, “you have no care for money or anything”. He shouted “get off my f***ing laptop”. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Boris Johnson, Misuse of Private Information, Public Interest, Zoe McCallum
Categories : Privacy
News: Council of Europe publishes “Guidelines on Safeguarding Privacy in the Media” as a tool for journalists
20 06 2019
The Council of Europe has published “Guidelines on Safeguarding Privacy in the Media” [pdf]. These are a collection of standards of the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights concerning the protection of privacy of public figures and private individuals in the media. They also include data protection principles based on various regulatory instruments and best practices. Read the rest of this entry »
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Categories : Human Rights, Privacy
Surveillance cameras will soon be unrecognisable: time for an urgent public conversation – William Webster
19 06 2019
It is often argued that the UK is the most surveilled country on the planet. This may or may not have been the case in the past but there are certainly now millions of surveillance cameras in public spaces – not to mention private buildings and homes. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: The Conversation, William Webster
Categories : Privacy, Surveillance
Case Law: ZXC v Bloomberg, Publication of investigation into businessman was a misuse of private information – Nathan Capone
3 06 2019
In the case of ZXC v Bloomberg LP ([2019] EWHC 970 (QB)) a businessman was awarded damages of £25,000 for misuse of private information after media organisation Bloomberg published an article citing confidential information obtained from a UK law enforcement agency which identified the businessman. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Investigations, Nathan Capone, Scandalous!
Categories : Caselaw, Freedom of expression, Injunction, Privacy
Case Law: Høiness v Norway, Refusal to impose liability for anonymous comments online did not breach Article 8 – Samuel Rowe
14 05 2019
In a judgment handed down on 19 March 2019 (Høiness v Norway, no 43624/14), the European Court of Human Rights (“ECtHR”) refused to impose liability on an Internet forum for anonymous comments that had been published on its site. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Samuel Rowe
Categories : Caselaw, Freedom of expression, Human Rights, Privacy
Anonymity and a Vulnerable Individual: The Troubling Case of Justyna – Valerie Eliot Smith
11 05 2019
On 8 March 2019, interim judgment was handed down in the apparently unremarkable case of Justyna Zeromska-Smith v United Lincolnshire Hospital Trust [2019] EWHC 552(QB). The decision appears to have been based on the following reasoning: Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Valerie Eliot Smith
Categories : Open Justice, Privacy
Facebook wants to combat fake news with ID checks: with ‘grave implications’ for our privacy – Fadi Safieddine
10 05 2019
The last time I recall someone demanding: “Show me your ID” was on the streets of Beirut during the final days of the civil war. Now, I get the same thing when I log into Facebook. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Facebook, Fadi Safieddine, The Conversation
Categories : Privacy, Social Media
