“Documents containing personal data cannot be withheld under EU freedom of information laws if the disclosure of the data does not undermine the privacy of the persons named, according to a ruling by the European Court of First Instance.”
OUT-LAW.com, 20th November 2007
Source: www.out-law.com
“Europe’s top privacy regulator has said that European privacy laws will need to be overhauled in just five years’ time. He also said that the rules governing which countries can be sent Europeans’ data could be improved.”
OUT-LAW.com, 9th November 2007
Source: www.out-law.com
“There have been many cases in recent years involving celebrities and the extent of their rights to privacy. But what about privacy for vulnerable people who were never celebrities in the first place? Is their protection against press intrusion stronger or weaker than the famous? Is the situation exacerbated by the fact that the subject of prurient interest happens to be a child?”
The Times, 8th November 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“Copyright and privacy infringement may be taking place on an unprecedented scale, but that doesn’t mean existing laws are irrelevant.”
The Times, 23rd October 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“Lawyers are using email to send sensitive information even though they think it is one of the least safe ways of communicating, according to a recent poll.”
Law Society’s Gazette, 11th October 2007
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
“The Information Commissioner will no longer regulate the use of Bluetooth mobile technology, prompting fears of a wave of ‘bluetooth spam.’ ”
Out-Law.com, 8th October 2007
Source; www.out-law.com
“Author Niema Ash has agreed not to publish further editions of her book about new age singer Loreena McKennit. The book was at the centre of a controversial case which has helped to redefine the privacy laws in England.”
OUT-LAW.com, 5th October 2007
Source: www.out-law.com
Celebrities enjoy no extra right to privacy
Murray v Express Newspapers plc and Another
“Where an individual was engaged in innocuous, routine activity in a public place, such as a street, that activity attracted no right or expectation of privacy and, accordingly, there was no prohibition on the taking or publishing of photographs of famous people engaged in such activity in a public place unless there were special circumstances such as harassment or distress caused to the individual.”
The Times, 4th October 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.
“Routine activities conducted in a public place, such as walking down the street or visiting the shops, did not attract any reasonable expectation or guarantee of privacy so that an individual who had been photographed in a public place could not rely on the right to respect for his private and family life under art 8 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, as scheduled to the Human Rights Act 1998, absent some other special circumstance such as harassment or distress.”
WLR Daily, 7th August 2007
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
“Lawyers for Kate Middleton, the girlfriend of Prince William, are threatening unprecedented legal action to try to protect her privacy from the paparazzi.”
Daily Telegraph, 3rd October 2007
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“Hacking kits, enabling criminals to break into personal email and bank accounts, are being sold on eBay, online security experts have warned. Anyone wanting to obtain private information from a computer can buy the spying software for as little as £10.”
Daily Telegraph, 24th September 2007
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“A documentary that cited video games among the reasons for childhood obesity did not treat Sony unfairly when criticising the PlayStation maker’s refusal to sponsor a fitness scheme for kids.”
Out-Law.com, 11th September 2007
Source: www.out-law.com
“The lads’ mag FHM was yesterday found guilty of a significant breach of the Press Complaints Commission code for publishing a topless picture of a 14-year-old girl without her consent.”
The Guardian, 12th September 2007
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Lord Justice Sedley’s proposal to put everyone in the UK on a DNA database would be dependent on a British man’s case against the UK at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), according to a privacy law expert.”
OUT-LAW.com, 7th September 2007
Source: www.out-law.com
“The Department of Trade and Industry has been criticised by a government watchdog for unjustifiable spying on former coalminers claiming compensation for industrial injuries. The department used investigators in clandestine surveillance operations to verify claims from miners who say they have suffered illnesses from working down the pits.”
The Guardian, 18th August 2007
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“A new law swept through Congress by the US government before the summer recess is to give American security agencies unprecedented powers to spy on British citizens without a warrant.”
The Observer, 19th August 2007
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“A British teenage photographer is suing an American film company after it used a self-portrait she took when she was 14 on the cover of a pornographic DVD.”
The Guardian, 14th August 2007
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The judge in the JK Rowling privacy case should have taken account of the fact that celebrities may be more vulnerable to media pressure than others and so entitled to stronger privacy protection a leading legal expert has said.”
OUT-LAW.com, 9th August 2007
Source: www.out-law.com
“Closed circuit television (CCTV) must not be used to record conversations, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has warned. The Commissioner has proposed a new Code of Practice on the use of CCTV.”
OUT-LAW.com, 3rd August 2007
Source: www.out-law.com
“Drivers’ privacy must be properly protected if local road charging schemes are to be introduced across England, a committee of MPs has said.”
BBC News, 3rd August 2007
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
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