Court delivers a blow to record companies on internet piracy – The Times

Posted January 30th, 2008 in copyright, data protection, internet, news, telecommunications by sally

“Record labels and film studios cannot demand that telecoms companies reveal the personal details of people suspected of swapping copyrighted material on the internet, the European Court of Justice ruled yesterday.”

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The Times, 30th January 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Watchdog sides with MI5 to reject phone-tap evidence – The Guardian

Posted January 29th, 2008 in evidence, interception, news, telecommunications by sally

“The prospect of phone-tap evidence being used in court, an issue at the heart of the dispute over proposed anti-terrorism measures, received a blow yesterday when the prime minister’s eavesdropping watchdog opposed the idea.”

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The Guardian, 29th January 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

3 fails in court bid to uncover evidence of alleged collusion – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 22nd, 2008 in competition, disclosure, news, telecommunications by sally

“Mobile phone network 3 has been refused permission to force its rivals to disclose emails and documents in a process that would have cost each of them £200,000. The High Court ruled that 3’s requests were not specific enough.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 21st January 2008

Source: www.out-law.com

Police to use text message tactics to snare rape suspects – The Guardian

Posted January 14th, 2008 in news, police, rape, self-incrimination, telecommunications by sally

“Police and prosecutors in rape cases are set to experiment with controversial techniques designed to make suspects incriminate themselves through phone calls or text messages.”

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The Guardian, 14th January 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Ofcom seeks new powers in wake of TV phone-in scandals – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 8th, 2008 in media, news, telecommunications by sally

“The chief executive of media regulator Ofcom wants to expand his office’s powers with new laws that would make its programming sanctions as powerful as its advertising ones.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 8th January 2008

Source: www.out-law.com

Channel 4 chiefs kept competition phone lines open despite knowing no one could win – The Times

Posted December 21st, 2007 in media, news, telecommunications by sally

“Channel 4 was fined £1.5 million by the broadcasting watchdog Ofcom after it emerged that executives knew that viewers were entering phone-in competitions they could not win.”

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The Times, 21st December 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Phone tap evidence ‘should be allowed in terrorist asset cases’ – The Times

Posted December 12th, 2007 in evidence, interception, news, telecommunications, terrorism by sally

“Evidence from telephone taps and other surveillance should be permitted in legal hearings to freeze terrorists’ assets, Jacqui Smith proposed yesterday.”

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The Times,  12th December 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Mobile phone rivals accused of colluding against 3 – The Times

Posted December 5th, 2007 in competition, law reports, telecommunications by sally

“Britain’s four biggest mobile phone operators used their own industry trade body as a forum for colluding to shut rival 3 out of the UK market, the High Court heard yesterday.”

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The Times, 5th December 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Ofcom sets two-hour deadline for mobile number porting – OUT-LAW.com

Posted November 30th, 2007 in news, telecommunications by sally

“Mobile phone networks must allow consumers moving to a rival network to take their mobile number with them and customers must be able to receive calls on that number within two hours of moving to the new network, under new rules coming into force in 2009.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 29th November 2007

Source: www.out-law.com

Vodafone faces court case in “bugging” row – The Observer

Posted November 26th, 2007 in interception, murder, news, telecommunications by sally

“Senior British managers of Vodafone are facing a private lawsuit from the family of a former employee who claim that he was murdered to stop him revealing a major phone-tapping scandal.”

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The Observer, 25th November 2007

Source: http://observer.guardian.co.uk

Thousands hit by phone bill scams – The Times

Posted November 26th, 2007 in consumer protection, news, telecommunications by sally

“Sales tactics used by mobile phone companies are to be subjected to strict new rules amid widespread evidence that customers are being duped over deals, The Times has learnt.”

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The Times, 24th November 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Lie detector to target claimants – BBC News

Posted November 20th, 2007 in benefits, news, telecommunications by sally

“Lie detection technology will be used for the first time on telephone calls of unemployment benefit claimants.”

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BBC News, 20th November 2007

Source: www.bbc.co.uk  

ITV checks if phone votes were ignored in The X-Factor – The Times

Posted November 5th, 2007 in media, news, telecommunications by sally

“ITV is examining fresh allegations of phone-in irregularities on The X Factor, a fortnight after the broadcaster was forced to own up to deceiving viewers out of £8 million on other programmes.”

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The Times, 3rd November 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Kommunikationsbehörde Austria v Österreichischer Rundfunk (Case C-195/06) – WLR Daily

Posted October 22nd, 2007 in advertising, law reports, media, telecommunications by sally

Kommunikationsbehörde Austria v Österreichischer Rundfunk 

The offer by a TV broadcaster to viewers to participate in a prize game by immediately dialling a premium rate telephone could constitute ‘teleshopping’ and ‘television advertising’ within Directive 89/552.”

WLR Daily, 22nd October 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.

In re St Peter and St Paul, Chingford – Times Law Reports

Posted October 8th, 2007 in ecclesiastical law, faculties, law reports, telecommunications by sally

Balancing mobile phone risks against benefits

In re St Peter and St Paul, Chingford

Court of Appeal

“In carrying out the balancing exercise necessary when considering whether to grant a faculty which would facilitate mobile telephone network coverage, it was necessary not to lose sight of the great benefits that had flowed from the introduction of the new technology when assessing the risk from evildoers.”

The Times, 8th October 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online from 21days from the date of publication 

BT users encouraged to share wireless connections – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 5th, 2007 in internet, news, telecommunications by sally

“From next week BT will encourage its broadband users to share their connections over wireless networks, a practice till now forbidden by the company’s terms and conditions.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 5th October 2007

Source: www.out-law.com

Data retention law makes little difference to telcos, says trade body – Out-Law.com

Posted October 2nd, 2007 in data protection, news, telecommunications by sally

“UK telecoms firms must keep phone call logs for a year under legislation which comes into force today. But an industry trade association said the new rules will make ‘little practical difference’ to telecoms providers that already store such data for billing purposes.”

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Out-Law.com, 1st October 2007

Source: www.out-law.com

Church court says yes to mobile mast – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 28th, 2007 in ecclesiastical law, faculties, news, telecommunications by sally

“A church has been given permission to install a 3G mobile phone mast on its tower despite there being a risk that the mast will transmit pornography. An ecclesiastical appeals court has overturned an earlier order and allowed the mast’s installation.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 24th August 2007

Source: www.out-law.com

In re St Peter and St Paul, Chingford – WLR Daily

Posted August 22nd, 2007 in ecclesiastical law, faculties, law reports, telecommunications by sally

In re St Peter and St Paul, Chingford

“In carrying out the balancing exercise necessary in considering whether or not to grant a faculty for the installation of telecommunications equipment it was necessary to differentiate between the effect of the installation of equipment on children and the effect on adults. Mobile phone operators had to ensure a reasonable response to countering the risk to children from pornography over the mobile phone network. In respect of the risk to adults, to bar something which would be of benefit to the public generally because there was a risk that some adults would be able privately to access material which many Christians and others deplored was to take an unbalanced approach.”

WLR Daily, 21st 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.

Data retention law passed in UK – OUT-LAW.com

Posted July 27th, 2007 in data protection, internet, news, telecommunications by sally

“UK telecoms companies will have to keep phone call logs for a year under a new law to come into force in October. The law does not apply to records of internet activity, such as web surfing, email and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone calls.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 27th July 2007

Source: www.out-law.com