How will the new law on cookies affect internet browsing? – The Guardian

Posted April 16th, 2012 in consent, internet, news, privacy by sally

“Websites track visitors’ activity, but will legal changes to users’ consent make a difference to the Guardian or other sites?”

Full story

The Guardian, 13th April 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Government to give consumers control over smart meter data amidst privacy concerns – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 12th, 2012 in consumer protection, data protection, energy, news, privacy by sally

“Third-party companies will not be able to access data recorded in consumers’ smart meters unless consumers choose to let them see it, the Government has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 12th April 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Blogger’s publication of Motorman records may have breached data protection laws, says watchdog – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 11th, 2012 in data protection, interception, media, news, privacy by sally

“A political blogger may have breached UK data protection laws after posting a list of journalists and the requests they allegedly made to a private detective to ‘blag’ information for stories.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 11th April 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Clarification of the ‘public interest’ defence is badly needed – The Guardian

Posted April 10th, 2012 in defences, electronic mail, interception, media, news, privacy, public interest by sally

“Sky News’s decision to approve the hacking of emails belonging to John Darwin, the once-missing, presumed-dead ‘canoe man’, can be argued to be one of those finely balanced editorial decisions. The public interest argument runs fairly straightforwardly, after all. Darwin pleaded guilty to deception in March 2008 – you will recall he went out to sea in a canoe and somehow paddled his way from the north-east to the Panama canal, suggesting he was not so dead after all. But his wife, Anne, was going to trial – a life insurance policy had been cashed in by her – and it was at that point Sky’s journalist, Gerard Tubb, was given the green light to try to access John Darwin’s email communications. As he did so, he uncovered information that made it clear that Anne Darwin was in on the plot, and having shared this with Cleveland police, the broadcaster believes it helped secure her conviction and produced a very detailed post-conviction backgrounder.”

Full story

The Guardian, 8th April 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The dangers of data snooping – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted April 10th, 2012 in bills, electronic mail, human rights, internet, investigatory powers, news, privacy by sally

“Civil liberties and the coalition have been happily filling the political pages this week. The damning conclusion of the Joint Committee on Human Rights that there is no evidence to justify expanding closed proceedings (expertly dissected by Rosalind English earlier in the week) vied for column inches with leaks that the Government planned to introduce ‘real time’ monitoring of how we use the internet in the interests of national security.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 6th April 2012

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Processing images in order to suggest identity of people featured not permissible without consent, privacy watchdog says – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 5th, 2012 in consent, data protection, EC law, internet, news, privacy by sally

Social networking sites need to obtain users’ ‘informed consent’ before suggesting to other users that those individuals feature in photos that they are uploading to the site, an EU privacy watchdog has said.

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OUT-LAW.com, 4th April 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Ken Clarke defends secret courts plans after Nick Clegg criticisms – The Guardian

“The justice secretary, Ken Clarke, has defended proposals to create a new generation of secret courts in the face of criticism from Nick Clegg and parliament’s human rights committee, saying the plans will make the system more accountable and more conducive to intelligence sharing with other countries.”

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The Guardian, 4th April 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Details of names and roles of senior council officials involved in recruitment subject to disclosure under FOI, Tribunal rules – OUT-LAW.com

“Councils should be prepared to disclose the names of senior staff members involved in recruiting senior councillors or officials as well as details of the role they played in that recruitment, an Information Rights Tribunal has ruled.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 4th April 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Online privacy: Big Brother will be watching you – but he’ll have his hands full – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted April 3rd, 2012 in intelligence services, internet, news, privacy by sally

“It’s pretty hard to do anything these days without someone knowing what you’re up to. The minutiae of our lives can be pieced together by hundreds of different agencies tracking our health, spending habits, travel, requests for credit checks, presence at work, absence from work, arrival at the gym, our children’s education – the list is extensive. So why is it that the current proposals for government monitoring of email and web use are causing such a fuss?”

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 3rd April 2012

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Government plans increased email and social network surveillance – The Guardian

Posted April 2nd, 2012 in electronic mail, internet, investigatory powers, news, police, privacy, terrorism by sally

“Ministers are to introduce a new law allowing police and security services to extend their monitoring of the public’s email and social media communications, the Home Office has confirmed.”

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The Guardian, 1st April 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Man loses privacy case over telling his wife about twins – BBC News

Posted March 29th, 2012 in blackmail, disclosure, families, harassment, injunctions, news, privacy by sally

“A businessman has failed in his High Court bid to prevent his wife being told of the birth of his twins from a secret relationship.”

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BBC News, 28th March 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Search engines should face legal requirement to censor privacy-invasive material unless they act voluntarily, MPs say – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 28th, 2012 in complaints, injunctions, internet, media, news, ombudsmen, privacy, public interest by sally

“New legislation should be introduced to force search engines to delete privacy-invasive material from search indexes if the companies do not take action voluntarily, a committee of MPs has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 27th March 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Employers warned against demanding Facebook details from staff – The Guardian

Posted March 27th, 2012 in data protection, employment, news, privacy by sally

“The Information Commissioner’s Office has warned employers in the UK that it would have ‘very serious concerns’ if they were to ask for Facebook login and password details from existing or would-be employees, following reports of such demands in the US.”

Full story

The Guardian, 26th March 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Privacy law not needed, says committee of MP and peers – BBC News

Posted March 27th, 2012 in injunctions, news, privacy, reports, select committees by sally

“Parliament should not introduce a new privacy law, even in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal at the News of the World, a report says.”

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BBC News, 27th March 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Privacy injunctions to get clean bill of health from parliament – The Guardian

Posted March 26th, 2012 in injunctions, media, news, parliamentary privilege, privacy, public interest by sally

“High court privacy injunctions have been given a clean bill of health by a special committee of MPs and peers which were set up in the fallout of the Ryan Giggs gagging order.”

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The Guardian, 23rd March 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

G v de Visser – WLR Daily

Posted March 21st, 2012 in default judgments, EC law, human rights, internet, law reports, photography, privacy by sally

G v de Visser (Case C-292/10); [2012] WLR (D) 87

“Where it was impossible to locate the whereabouts of a defendant, European Union law did not preclude the issue of judgment by default in circumstances where the document instituting proceedings had been served by public notice under national law, provided that the court seised of the matter had first satisfied itself that all investigations required by the principles of diligence and good faith had been undertaken to trace the defendant.”

WLR Daily, 15th March 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Leveson: Times failed to tell judge about NightJack hacking – Daily Telegraph

Posted March 16th, 2012 in disclosure, electronic mail, inquiries, media, news, privacy by tracey

“The Times newspaper failed to tell a High Court judge that one of its journalists had obtained information illegally because of fears that he would be prosecuted if he told the truth, the Leveson Inquiry heard yesterday.”

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Daily Telegraph, 16th March 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

#WithoutPrejudice podcast 22: FREE SPEECH – Charon QC

Posted March 9th, 2012 in defamation, freedom of expression, podcasts, privacy by tracey

“Tonight’s topic is Free Speech and how privacy and libel law may impact on this cherished right.”

Podcast

Charon QC, 9th March 2012

Source: www.charonqc.wordpress.com

“Charon QC” is the blogging pseudonym of Mike Semple Piggot, editor of insitelaw newswire.

The new EU data protection framework: uniform, prescriptive and ambitious – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted March 5th, 2012 in data protection, EC law, news, privacy by tracey

“These are truly exhilarating times for the data protection world. Viviane Reding’s recent announcement of the Commission’s proposal for a fully harmonised European data protection framework had the connotations of an Olympic opening ceremony – the years of hard work in preparation for this moment, the sense of achievement in the face of challenge and the triumphant belief that something memorable is going to come out of this. Only the big drums and the flame were missing. The jury is now out but this is without a doubt the most significant global legislative development affecting the collection, use and protection of personal information of the past 15 years.”

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 2nd March 2012

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

 

Ryan Giggs loses damages claim against the Sun – BBC News

Posted March 2nd, 2012 in damages, injunctions, internet, media, news, privacy by tracey

“A damages claim by Manchester United and Wales footballer Ryan Giggs against the Sun newspaper has been thrown out by a High Court judge.”

Full story

BBC News, 2nd March 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk