Trimingham case is an example of value judgments obscuring legal ones – The Guardian

Posted May 29th, 2012 in evidence, freedom of expression, harassment, homosexuality, media, news, privacy by sally

“While the judge’s reasons for finding against Trimingham are clear, the conclusions to be drawn for future harassment cases against the media are not.”

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The Guardian, 28th May 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

PC who stole £4,000 recovered raid cash jailed – The Independent

“A lonely and debt-ridden police constable stole money seized in police raids and used the force computer to contact women after a relationship ended, a court heard today.”

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The Independent, 25th May 2012

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Cookies law changed at 11th hour to introduce ‘implied consent’ – The Guardian

Posted May 28th, 2012 in consent, EC law, internet, news, privacy by sally

“New EU regulations on the use by British websites of cookies have been watered down by the UK’s information commissioner just hours before they were due to come into force.”

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The Guardian, 26th May 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

RPC wins landmark media harassment case for Daily Mail – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted May 24th, 2012 in harassment, media, news, privacy by sally

“RPC has successfully defended Associated Newspapers in the first media harassment case to go to trial, after the newspaper group was sued by the partner of MP Chris Huhne, Carina Trimingham.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 24th May 2012

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Data extracted from suspects’ mobiles retained in accordance with strict privacy guidelines, The Met says – OUT-LAW.com

Posted May 22nd, 2012 in data protection, evidence, news, police, privacy, telecommunications by sally

“Information collected from suspects’ mobile phones using new data extraction technology is retained in accordance with strict guidelines that protect individuals’ privacy, the Metropolitan Police Service (The Met) has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 22nd May 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Clarifying cookie consent – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted May 21st, 2012 in consent, data protection, EC law, fines, internet, news, privacy by sally

“Three years have gone by since the European Parliament shocked and awed everyone by tweaking the e-privacy directive and introducing the most controversial word in the data protection glossary – consent – in the provision that deals with Internet cookies.”

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 18th May 2012

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

ICO says Government still to make the case for greater police communications monitoring powers – OUT-LAW.com

“The case for law enforcement to be given enhanced powers to monitor individuals’ internet communications has still to be made, the UK’s privacy watchdog has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 11th May 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

 

Case for snooping powers backfires for Theresa May – Daily Telegraph

“An attempt by Theresa May to defend proposed new snooping powers backfired yesterday when she was contradicted by her own child exploitation experts.”

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Daily Telegraph, 10th May 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

 

Aneurin Bevan Health Board fined £70,000 over data breach – BBC News

Posted April 30th, 2012 in data protection, disclosure, fines, medical records, news, privacy by sally

“A Welsh health board has become the first NHS body to be fined for breaching the Data Protection Act after it released sensitive data about a patient to the wrong person.”

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BBC News, 30th April 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Ofcom studies phone-hacking evidence in BSkyB ‘fit and proper’ probe – The Guardian

Posted April 27th, 2012 in interception, media, news, privacy by sally

“Rupert Murdoch’s UK media empire is facing fresh scrutiny after media regulator Ofcom said it would examine evidence of phone hacking as part of its investigation into whether BSkyB is a ‘fit and proper’ owner of a broadcasting licence. Ofcom has stepped up its investigation into News Corporation’s BSkyB stake by requesting private court documents disclosed to lawyers acting for several alleged victims of phone hacking by the News of the World. News Corp is the largest shareholder in Sky, with a 39.1% stake, and is the parent company of News of the World publisher News International.”

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The Guardian, 26th April 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Ofcom to probe Sky email hacking – BBC News

Posted April 23rd, 2012 in electronic mail, interception, media, news, privacy, public interest by sally

“Ofcom has launched an investigation into the hacking of private email accounts by Sky News.”

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BBC News, 23rd April 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Financial Remedy Cases: Piecing Together The Jigsaw – Family Law Week

Posted April 23rd, 2012 in costs, dispute resolution, divorce, family courts, news, privacy by sally

“An examination of the pros and cons of the available methods for resolving financial remedy cases.”

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Family Law Week, 20th April 2012

Source: www.familylawweek.com

Vos J incredulous as 11 firms file 50 more phone-hacking claims – The Lawyer

Posted April 23rd, 2012 in disclosure, interception, judges, media, news, privacy by sally

“Mr Justice Vos has described the number of firms clambering on board the phone-hacking juggernaut as ‘unbelievable’, as 11 firms have filed further claims on behalf of celebrities allegedly targeted by the News of the World.”

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The Lawyer, 23rd April 2012

Source: www.thelawyer.com

Names of staff members who dealt with complaints are not necessarily personal data, Tribunal says – OUT-LAW.com

“The names of three junior members of staff who had handled complaints made to the financial services regulator should have been disclosed as part of a freedom of information request as disclosure ‘did not adversely affect their privacy’, a tribunal has ruled.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 18th April 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

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?”

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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.”

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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