Data and privacy
Anonymity order lifted in marital privacy case
A High Court judge has lifted an anonymity order protecting the identity of a formerly married couple involved in a privacy dispute.
Read moreThe Article 8 rights of sex offenders
A recent decision of the Supreme Court has unleashed a populist wave directed at the European Court of Human Rights and European judges generally.
Read moreForced sterilisation case heard in public
On 15 February 2011 Hedley J ordered that a case proceeding in the Court of Protection which featured medical information of the highest sensitivity should be held in open court.
Read moreMax Mosley and the public interest in exposing hypocrisy
In an interesting interview with the Financial Times, the UK's most indomitable privacy claimant, Max Mosley, challenges the notion that there might be a public interest in exposing hypocrisy.
Read moreNo privacy in Tweets
Publicly accessible postings on Twitter and other social media are not private, according to rulings by the Press Complaints Commission.
Read moreICO fines councils for losing laptops
On 8 February 2011 the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) issued two monetary penalty notices for serious breaches of the Data Protection Act.
Read moreSupreme Court welcomes Twitter
The use of Twitter is now officially sanctioned in the Supreme Court.
Read moreShock decision: sportsman not unmasked
The identity of the sportsman officially known as JIH remains confidential.
Read moreAnonymity proposed for teachers accused by pupils
The controversial Education Bill was published on 26 January 2011.
Read moreBlanket reporting restriction set aside by Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal has discharged an order the effect of which would have been to postpone the reporting of an important criminal case for several months.
Read morePhone-hacking claims - a new legal pursuit
The pack of lawyers representing the alleged victims of phone hacking by the News of the World seems to grow on an almost weekly basis.
Read moreA mass outbreak of anonymity: CDE and FGH v MGN and LMN
It is not unusual for claimants in privacy cases to be anonymised. It is less common for defendants and distinctly unusual for non-parties.
Read moreECtHR upholds Campbell v MGN
Just under seven years after the House of Lords found by 3 to 2 against the Daily Mirror in the landmark privacy case by Naomi Campbell, the European Court of Human Rights has rejected MGN's attempt to persuade it that UK law was incompatible with Article 10.
Read moreNo exclusion of bereaved families from 7/7 inquest
The Divisional Court has refused the Government's application for judicial review of the 7/7 Coroner's decision not to exclude victims' families from the court during its private sessions.
Read more7/7 footage withheld from public to protect privacy of victims and their families
The Coroner conducting the inquest into the terror attacks in London on 7 July 2005 has ordered that certain footage shown in court of the aftermath of the 7/7 attacks should not be released to the media.
Read moreSuper-injunctions - an update
Super-injunctions are injunctions that prevent publication of the fact that the court has made an injunction.
Read moreShould the parties in privacy cases be anonymised? - a summary of the recent judgments
Since the end of the summer at least eight judgments have considered whether the parties to successful applications for privacy injunctions should be anonymised.
Read moreAnonymity of egg and sperm donors
A survey by Manchester Fertility Services highlights issues of privacy concerning egg and sperm donation.
Read moreNo injunction for local authority that failed to give notice to media
A judge has refused to make an order gagging media organisations who were not given proper notice of the application for the order.
Read moreMedia access to Court of Protection
The Independent newspaper has won the right to attend and report on a case in the Court of Protection.
Read moreUK referred to ECJ over internet privacy
On 30 September 2010 the European Commission announced that it referred the UK to the European Court of Justice for its alleged failure to implement EU laws on the confidentiality of electronic communications such as emails or internet browsing.
Read moreUse (and abuse?) of anti-terrorism powers by police
A Home Office report on the operation of police powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 and subsequent legislation has revealed that in 2009/10 a total of 101,248 stop-and-searches were made pursuant to s40 of the Terrorism Act 2000, but not one of the stop-and-searches resulted in an arrest being made on a terrorism charge.
Read moreComputer hacker fined £21,000
A computer hacker who admitted offences under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 has been fined £21,000 and given a 36-week prison sentence suspended for two years.
Read moreNew report on the 'Surveillance Society'
The Information Commissioner has expressed concern over the lack of scrutiny of new laws affecting privacy.
Read moreUndercover reporting - 'Cablegate'
On 20 December 2010 the Daily Telegraph published a report based on secretly recorded conversations with the Business Secretary Vince Cable.
Read moreGoogle escapes fine over Street View breach
Google's Street View service has escaped a financial penalty despite being found to breach the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA).
Read morePublic access to documents in criminal cases
The Administrative Court has upheld the decision of a district judge to refuse the press access to documents placed before a magistrates court in connection with extradition proceedings
Read moreVan Morrison gets privacy injunction
The musician Van Morrison has obtained an injunction against the News of the World to prevent the publication of private information apparently disclosed to the newspaper by a tradesman working at the musician's house.
Read morePrivacy judgment in Northern Ireland
In King v Sunday Newspapers (Northern Ireland High Court, WEA7948), following a High Court trial before Weatherup J, the claimant obtained an injunction preventing publication of his home address and certain further information about his family.
Read moreHarassment by newspaper articles
In King v Sunday Newspapers (Northern Ireland High Court, WEA7948) the claimant alleged that a series of articles in the Northern Irish newspaper Sunday World constituted harassment under the Prevention of Harassment (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 (the equivalent of the Protection From Harassment Act 1997).
Read moreTweeting the courts
The Lord Chief Justice has issued guidance on the use of Twitter in court.
Read moreApplications for privacy injunctions – when notice need not be given
In DFT v TFD [2010] EWHC 2335 (QB) Sharp J made an order to restrain publication of allegedly private and confidential information without notice having been given to either the respondent or the media.
Read morePrivacy and anonymisation in commercial cases and in the Court of Appeal
In a music royalties dispute involving Pink Floyd, the Court of Appeal has made it clear that a private hearing or anonymisation of parties should take place only where the court is satisfied this is necessary for the proper administration of justice.
Read morePrivacy and blackmail
Those seeking to profit from making unauthorised disclosures of private information sometimes resort to blackmail, seeking to extort money from those who would prefer to keep the information private.
Read moreAnonymisation of parties in matrimonial proceedings
The Court of Appeal has lifted an order by a family court judge which directed that the parties to the proceedings should be anonymised.
Read moreSchool photographs, data protection and common sense
In the run up to Christmas the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued a press release confirming that the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) does not prevent family and friends from taking photographs at school concerts or plays.
Read moreFirst monetary penalty notices issued by ICO
On 24 November the Information Commissioner's Office ("ICO") issued its first monetary penalty notices, marking the first use of this power since it became available to the ICO in April.
Read moreThe Stig reveals himself
Ben Collins is the second man to play the part of the anonymous racing driver “The Stig” in the BBC's popular Top Gear programme.
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