In Part 1 of this post I looked at “spent convictions” in the context of the law of privacy. The other important legal perspective on such convictions is that of the law of data protection. Continue reading
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References to individuals’ criminal histories are commonplace in news reporting, works of non-fiction and on social media. Unwittingly or otherwise, this may include details of spent convictions and the conduct which gave rise to them. Continue reading
News: Statement in Open Court, World-Check database apologises to Mosque over “terrorism” allegation
In a statement in open court [pdf] read today before HHJ Parkes QC, Thomson Reuters Limited, the publishers of the World-Check database, apologised to Finsbury Park Mosque for publishing a profile report which alleged that there were grounds to suspect that the mosque had continued connections to terrorism. Continue reading
In a turbulent era of fake news, Donald Trump, and Brexit, the need for accurate reporting and informed comment and analysis is all too clear. And it has traditionally been newspapers that have done the heavy lifting that ensures the public is kept in the picture. But just when we need them the most, the future of newspapers is unclear at best. Continue reading
The Trump offensive – in both senses of the word – against the media continues unabated. The already fraught relationship now appears to have taken a more sinister turn with the news that six journalists who were arrested while covering anti-Trump protests in Washington during the inauguration have been charged with felony rioting and could face lengthy jail terms. Continue reading
Sometimes, even after all these years of press lies and hypocrisy, the shamelessness of the big British newspaper companies can still take the breath away. Last week lawyers for the Murdoch, Mirror and Mail papers complained to the Supreme Court that costs in some media cases amounted to a ‘legal casino’ in which the bills could be so high that there was a ‘chilling effect’ on journalism. As a result, they argued, freedom of expression was endangered. Continue reading
There was a three day media law hearing in the Supreme Court this week, with the Daily Mail, the Times and Mirror Group using the Human Rights Act to challenge conditional fee agreements. These newspapers have refused to join a recognised regulator and are now asking the court to remove the only other “access to justice” route available to ordinary litigants. Continue reading
One of the decisions that Theresa May must make in the next few weeks will define her as a prime minister – and it is not about Brexit. The fateful choice before her is between, on the one hand, standing up to the corporate national newspapers and becoming a political leader in her own right, and on the other, accepting that, for as long as they allow her to remain in Downing Street, she must be their doormat. Continue reading
My new book Private Power, Online Information Flows and EU Law: Mind the Gap has recently been published by Hart, and will be launched on Tuesday 31 January with Chris Marsden (Sussex) and Orla Lynskey (LSE). More info about the launch and RSVP via this link. Continue reading
The ubiquity of social media platforms and their significance in disseminating information (true or false) to potentially wide groups of people was highly unlikely to have been in the minds of the European legislators when they agreed, in 2000, the e-Commerce Directive (Directive 2000/31/EC) (ECD). Continue reading
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