The decision in Butt v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] EWHC 2619 (QB) clarifies the application of the statutory defence of honest opinion under section 3 of the Defamation Act 2013. In doing so the case also confirms the application of the defence to statements made by Government bodies and the interdependence of the defence upon findings of meaning. Continue reading
The International Forum for Responsible Media Blog
Tag: Brett Wilson (Page 2 of 3)
“#MeToo”: Five letters that have been tweeted millions of times in the past month, and demonstrate the enormous power of social media and how it can bring about change for the good. Continue reading
In the case of Middleton & Anor v Person Or Persons Unknown [2016] EWHC 2354 (QB) Pippa Middleton, the sister of the Duchess of Cambridge, successfully sought the continuation of an interim privacy injunction and the expansion of its terms against person(s) unknown. Continue reading
In Bukovsky v Crown Prosecution Service ([2016] EWHC 1926 (QB)), a Soviet dissident resident in England, was suing the Crown Prosecution Service (‘CPS’), the principal public prosecuting authority in England and Wales, for libel, misfeasance in public office, and breach of the Human Rights Act concerning a press release announcing that he was to be prosecuted for a number of criminal offences. The action came before Warby J for a preliminary trial as to the meaning of the words complained of. Continue reading
Sir Cliff Richard is one of many famous faces to have been investigated for allegations of historic sex abuse, with the police and the Crown Prosecution Service ultimately taking no further action. Continue reading
It is now just over two years since the Court of Justice of the European Union first ruled that Google was a data controller and that the principles of EU Directive 95/46/EC (‘the Data Protection Directive’), and the various national legislation that implement them, applied to its search results. Continue reading
Following reports about the seven year ordeal suffered by Lily Allen, stalking is back in the mainstream media. Most people will be familiar with the term ‘stalking’. Unfortunately, familiarity can breed contempt: many people, including, significantly, many Police Officers, still either fundamentally misunderstand what stalking is, or fail to appreciate how serious a problem it presents for our society. As a result, many victims receive poor advice and little, if any, protection. Continue reading
Last month PR guru Max Clifford was ordered to pay the former Royal Butler Paul Burrell £5,000 compensation for the unauthorised disclosure of private information contained within a letter Mr Burrell had sent him. There is a judgment on liability and quantum (Burrell v Clifford [2016] EWHC 294 (Ch)), although Mr Justice Mann’s earlier decision dismissing Mr Clifford’s strike out application on limitation and triviality grounds (Burrell v Clifford [2015] EWHC 2001 (Ch)) is arguably of wider importance. This was discussed on the Brett Wilson blog last year. Continue reading
Solicitors Brett Wilson have published an e-book exploring the development of online abuse. The 21 page guide charts the recent explosion of cyberbullying and the potential dangers of social media use. Continue reading
‘Revenge porn’, the term coined for the unauthorised sharing of private sexual photographs or videos, often carried out by spurned lovers over the medium of the Internet, has been criminalised in England and Wales under the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 (‘the Act’) which received Royal Assent on 12 February 2015. Continue reading
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