The Obscene Publications Act rides again – The Register

Posted October 7th, 2008 in internet, news, obscenity by sally

“The legal world is buzzing at the announcement last week of the prosecution of 35-year-old civil servant Darryn Walker for the online publication of material that Police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) believe to be obscene.”

Full story

The Register, 6th October 2008

Source: www.theregister.co.uk

Government spies could scan every call, text and email – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 6th, 2008 in internet, news, privacy, telecommunications by sally

“Ministers are considering a £12 billion plan to monitor the e-mail, telephone and internet browsing records of every person in Britain.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 5th October 2008

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Girls Aloud in ‘murder’ blog case – BBC News

Posted October 3rd, 2008 in internet, news, obscenity by sally

“A civil servant is being prosecuted over an internet blog which detailed the kidnap, torture and murder of the pop group Girls Aloud.”

Full story

BBC News, 2nd October 2008

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Britain’s first internet crime unit to be established – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 1st, 2008 in computer crime, internet, news by sally

“The first specialist internet crime unit in Britain is being set up by Scotland Yard to fight £50 billion worth of fraud and organised ‘cyber’ crime, ministers announced.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 30th September 2008

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Britain sets up online child safety watchdog – The Guardian

Posted September 29th, 2008 in children, internet, news by sally

“Cyber-bullying, online pornography, violent video games and websites that encourage young people to harm themselves are to be targeted by a new watchdog launched by the government today.”

Full story

The Guardian, 29th September 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Net Suicide Bill would breathe life into government censorship – The Register

Posted September 25th, 2008 in freedom of expression, internet, news, suicide by sally

“Government moves to reduce the availability of suicide sites on the internet may herald a new era of online censorship in the UK.”

Full story

The Register, 24th September 2008

Source: www.theregister.co.uk

Suicide websites – Law Commission

Posted September 19th, 2008 in internet, press releases, suicide by sally

“We are pleased to see that the Government has announced its intention to amend the language of section 2 of the Suicide Act 1961.”

Full press release

Law Commission, 17th September 2008

www.lawcom.gov.uk

Suicide and the internet – updating the law – Ministry of Justice

Posted September 17th, 2008 in assisted suicide, internet, news by sally

“The law on assisting suicide is to be simplified to increase public understanding and reassure people that it applies as much on the internet as it does off-line, Justice Minister, Maria Eagle said today.”

Full story

Ministry of Justice,17th September 2008

Source: www.justice.gov.uk

Judge slaps Fasthosts for rubbish kit and support – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 3rd, 2008 in contracts, damages, internet, news by sally

“A county court judge has awarded a disgruntled Fasthosts customer almost £1,500 in damages and costs, after the Gloucester firm failed to meet its uptime and customer service guarantees.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 3rd September 2008

Source: www.out-law.com

London crime maps are launched – BBC News

Posted September 3rd, 2008 in crime, internet, London, news, statistics by sally

“Maps showing the numbers of muggings, burglaries and vehicle break-ins across London have been made available online.”

Full story

BBC News, 3rd September 2008

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

How logging on can help you to find the right lawyer – The Times

Posted August 21st, 2008 in advertising, internet, solicitors by sally

“Lawyers have never believed themselves to be a service industry. But the days of hanging up your shingle and waiting for a grateful public to beat its way to your door are gone, replaced by an online environment where the power is shifting rapidly towards consumers.”

Full story

The Times, 21st August 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Computer ‘villains’ are not geeks, just savvy children – The Times

Posted August 20th, 2008 in copyright, internet, special report by sally

“In the past 15 years, nothing has given entertainment publishers quite as many sleepless nights as internet piracy. Starting with the rise of Napster, the music-sharing service, in the 1990s, the rapidly increasing speed of broadband connections has allowed consumers to share and copy media files in vast quantities.”

Full story

The Times, 20th August 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Computer games: Industry acts on illegal downloads – The Guardian

Posted August 20th, 2008 in copyright, internet, news, video games by sally

“The computer games industry is launching a crackdown on people who illegally download games from the internet by writing to 25,000 people in Britain suspected of illegally sharing files and asking them to pay £300 immediately to avoid any further legal action.”

Full story

The Guardian, 20th August 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Sun website censured over video footage – Reuters

Posted August 20th, 2008 in internet, media, news, privacy by sally

“The Sun newspaper website has been censured by the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) in a landmark ruling over the use of undercover video footage of a man convicted of child pornography offences.”

Full story

Reuters, 19th August 2008

Source: www.reuters.com

The Free Legal Web – Nick Holmes

Posted August 19th, 2008 in internet, legal profession, news by sally

“The Free Legal Web is an initiative designed to deliver a web service that joins up the law and legal commentary and analysis on the web and provides a useful service to both lawyers and the community at large. Read the About page for full details.”

Full story

Source: freelegalweb.org

Game sharers face legal crackdown – BBC News

Posted August 19th, 2008 in copyright, damages, internet, news, video games by sally

“A British woman who put a game on a file-sharing network has been ordered to pay damages to the game’s creator.”

Full story

BBC News, 19th August 2008

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Privacy awareness not backed up by behaviour, survey finds – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 13th, 2008 in internet, news, privacy by sally

“Almost 90% of UK internet users are prepared to give away private data despite 84% of the same users claiming to be very guarded about online privacy.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 13th August 2008

Source: www.out-law.com

‘Snooper’s charter’ to check texts and emails – The Guardian

Posted August 13th, 2008 in data protection, internet, investigatory powers, news by sally

“Local councils, health authorities and hundreds of other public bodies are to be given the power to access details of everyone’s personal text, emails and internet use under Home Office proposals published yesterday.”

Full story

The Guardian, 13th August 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Internet chat more likely slander than libel, says High Court – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 8th, 2008 in defamation, internet, news by sally

“Defamation on internet bulletin boards is more like slander than libel, a High Court judge has ruled. Mr Justice Eady said that bulletin board discussions are characterised by ‘give and take’ and should be considered in that context.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 7th August 2008

Source: www.out-law.com

Don’t cite ‘hits’ as a measure of website traffic, warns advertising watchdog – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 6th, 2008 in advertising, internet, news by sally

“An advert that claimed a website received over five million ‘hits’ every month has been banned because the metric is likely to mislead readers. The UK’s advertising watchdog said that ‘hits’ is an unreliable measure of website popularity.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 6th August 2008

Source: www.out-law.com