Bosses behind nuisance phone calls could face £500,000 fine – The Guardian

Posted October 24th, 2016 in fines, news, privacy, telecommunications by michael

‘Rogue company bosses could face fines of up to £500,000 if their firm is behind nuisance phone calls under a government move to clamp down on the problem.’

Full story

The Guardian, 23rd October 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Controversial snooping technology ‘used by at least seven police forces’ – The Guardian

Posted October 11th, 2016 in interception, investigatory powers, London, news, police, privacy, telecommunications by sally

‘Controversial surveillance technology that indiscriminately harvests information from mobile phones is being used by at least seven police forces across the country, a far larger number than previously known, according to police documents.’

Full story

The Guardian, 10th October 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

High Court challenge over award of helpline contract to G4S fails – Local Government Lawyer

Posted October 6th, 2016 in contracting out, contracts, equality, law centres, news, telecommunications by tracey

‘The Law Centres Network (LCN) has lost its bid to prevent G4S being awarded a government contract to run the Equality Advisory Support Service (EASS) helpline.’

Full story

Local Government Lawyer, 6th October 2016

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

TalkTalk hit with record fine for cyber attack – The Guardian

Posted October 6th, 2016 in computer crime, data protection, fines, news, telecommunications by tracey

‘The UK’s data watchdog has fined TalkTalk a record £400,000 over last year’s cyber attack on the company in which the personal details of thousands of customers were exposed.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 5th October 2016

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

PI cold-calling ban will stay in place, says SRA, as Law Society steps up attack on Handbook rewrite – Legal Futures

‘Fears that the rewritten SRA Handbook might not continue the ban on law firms cold-calling potential personal injury clients have been allayed by the regulator.’

Full story

Legal Futures, 20th September 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Sexting: treating children as ‘mini sex offenders’ could make things worse – Daily Telegraph

Posted September 20th, 2016 in children, news, reports, sexual offences, social services, teachers, telecommunications by tracey

‘Children should not be treated as “mini sex offenders” for behaviour such as sexting or other types of exploration which they are likely to grow out of, official guidance for teachers, medical staff and social workers signals.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 20th September 2016

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Lawyers aghast at SRA plans to lift cold-calling ban – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Personal injury lawyers have warned that Solicitors Regulation Authority plans to remove a ban on cold calling will only encourage the shadier elements of the profession.’

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 15th September 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Illegal mobile phone use by motorists is increasing, says RAC – The Guardian

Posted September 15th, 2016 in crime, news, reports, road traffic offences, telecommunications by tracey

‘Illegal mobile phone use by drivers is rising, according to new research that found 31% of motorists admitted to using a handheld phone behind the wheel compared with 8% in 2014.’

Full story

The Guardian, 15th September 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Rupert Murdoch’s News UK to be censured for misleading Parliament over phone hacking scandal – Daily Telegraph

Posted September 14th, 2016 in interception, media, news, parliament, sanctions, select committees, telecommunications by tracey

‘Rupert Murdoch’s media company News UK is to be censured by Parliament for its conduct in the aftermath of the phone hacking scandal. It is understood that the House of Commons Standards and Privileges Committee will find the company and a number of senior individuals guilty of misleading Parliament.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 14th September 2016

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Law centres to challenge rights helpline contract – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted September 7th, 2016 in equality, human rights, law centres, news, telecommunications, tenders by sally

‘The Law Centres Network has threatened to seek judicial review of the government’s decision to award the contract for operating a discrimination helpline to security contractor G4S.’

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 6th September 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

UK data privacy regulator to monitor WhatsApp’s data sharing with Facebook – The Guardian

Posted August 30th, 2016 in data protection, internet, news, privacy, telecommunications by sally

‘The UK’s data privacy regulator said on Friday it would monitor how popular messaging service WhatsApp shares data with parent Facebook under a new privacy policy.’

Full story

The Guardian, 26th August 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Legal, contractual and ethical issues arise from increased robotics in manufacturing, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

‘The anticipated rise in the use of robots will force manufacturers to rethink contracts with technology suppliers to ensure risks stemming from their use can be passed on.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 25th August 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

Man given suspended sentence for death threat to MP – The Guardian

‘A man who sent a threatening voice message to senior Labour MP Ben Bradshaw the day before the killing of parliamentary colleague Jo Cox has been given a suspended sentence.’

Full story

The Guardian, 23rd August 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Review finds ‘proven’ or ‘distinct’ operational case for bulk surveillance powers – OUT-LAW.com

‘There is a “proven operational case” for most of the bulk surveillance powers the UK government wishes to provide UK intelligence agencies in the proposed new Investigatory Powers Bill, the UK’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation has said.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 22nd August 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

Blackstone’s Statutes 2016-2017: key legislation – OUP Blog

Posted August 17th, 2016 in assault, EC law, enfranchisement, news, referendums, telecommunications by sally

‘In 2015, we asked some of our Blackstone’s Statutes series editors to select a piece of legislation from their subject area which had made a big impact; it resulted in an interesting selection so we decided to do the same thing this year. Discussed below are what our editors consider to be key pieces of legislation from their area of expertise. The main difference this time around has been that the UK has voted to leave the EU, which in turn has led to the future of some legislation being uncertain.’

Full story

OUP Blog, 17th August 2016

Source: www.blog.oup.com

New powers to cut off illicit mobile phones used in prisons – The Guardian

Posted August 12th, 2016 in budgets, enforcement, news, prisons, statistics, telecommunications by sally

‘New powers to cut off illicit mobile phones used by prisoners to run criminal operations have been introduced in jails across England and Wales.’

Full story

The Guardian, 11th August 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Illegal mobile phones in prisons to be cut off – Home Office

Posted August 11th, 2016 in press releases, prisons, telecommunications by tracey

‘Inmates running criminal operations from behind bars will be targeted with new powers to cut off mobile phones being used illegally in prisons.’

Full press release

Home Office, 11th August 2016

Source: www.gov.uk/home-office

Strengthen rules on premium rate texts, says regulator – BBC News

‘Rules should be strengthened to avoid mobile users being hit by unexpected charges on premium rate texts, a regulator has said.’

Full story

BBC News, 5th August 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Hate crime guidance for prosecutors to deal with social media – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Social media communications will be the subject of new guidance issued to prosecutors as part of the government’s action plan to tackle hate crime following an increase in the number of incidents.’

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 26th July 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

iPhone evidence ‘could be more effective than court hearing’ – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Resolving neighbour disputes using iPhone evidence and a video hearing might be more effective than the parties travelling several miles to court, a senior government official has said, outlining significant developments to modernise the justice system.’

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 21st July 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk