All posts
4.06.15
Iain Wilson interviewed by Cosmopolitan
Brett Wilson LLP Partner Iain Wilson features as a legal expert in Cosmopolitan magazine’s guide to tackling revenge porn. A copy of the article can be found here.
Read more26.05.15
1,209 internet trolls convicted in 2014
The Ministry of Justice has published figures relating to offences involving the posting of offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing messages. The figures show 1,209 individuals were convicted in 2014, up from 143 a decade previously. 155 of the 1,209 were imprisoned. An additional 685 individuals were cautioned under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 last year. Source: The Times
Read more22.05.15
ICO may take action against Google over 'right to be forgotten'
The Deputy Information Commissioner, David Smith, has indicated that the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) may take legal action against Google over its handling of ‘right to be forgotten’ requests. The Article 29 Working Party has also criticised Google for notifying media outlets when URLs from their sites are going to be filtered and for failing…
Read more14.05.15
Defamation injunctions: the need to show risk of republication
In Bell v Payne (2015) an application for an injunction to restrain an ex-girlfriend making defamatory allegations was adjourned with liberty to restore. Background In September 2013, proceedings were issued for libel. The claimant, a self-defence trainer had been in a relationship with the defendant. The relationship ended and the claimant alleged that in April 2013,…
Read more22.04.15
Twitter introduces algorithim to automatically filter abusive tweets
Twitter has introduced a tool which automatically scans and blocks abusive tweets. The algorithm looks out for a number of ‘red flags’, including whether a complaint has previously been made against the sender, whether the content is similar to content previously deemed abusive and the age of the account. The tweets are blocked before they are received by the intended recipient, although…
Read more29.03.15
Court of Appeal greenlights Data Protection Act claims for distress where no other loss
The Court of Appeal has handed down a landmark judgment in Vidal-Hall v Google Inc [2015] EWCA Civ 311 – a decision eagerly awaited by media and Data Protection practitioners. The Claimants in the action are a group of individuals who use the ‘Safari’ web browser. They claim that between Summer 2011 and February 2012…
Read more27.03.15
Facebook found liable for failing to act promptly to protect paedophile from harassment and breach of privacy
In CG v. Facebook Ireland Ltd and Joseph McCloskey [2015] NIQB 11 the anonymised claimant was awarded £20,000 in damages and an injunction for misuse of private information and harassment. The claimant is a convicted sex offender who bought the claims against Facebook and Mr Joseph McCloskey. Facebook, the first defendant, was the host and McCloskey, the…
Read more5.03.15
Cyberbullying, Online Harassment & Twibel – The State of Play in 2015
Brett Wilson have published an e-book exploring the development of online abuse. The 21 page guide charts the recent explosion of cyberbullying and the potential dangers of social media use. The guide is split into four chapters:- Cyberbullying, Trolling and Social Media Twitter Libel, Prosecutions and Contempt of Court Revenge Porn and the Misuse of…
Read more24.02.15
IPCC caseworkers obtain harassment injunctions after internet abuse campaign
In Coulson & Ors v Wilby [2014] EWHC 3404 (QB) the High Court granted interim harassment injunctions to protect three caseworkers from the Independent Police Complaints Commission who were being harassed by two separate defendants. The applications were framed in harassment but the claim forms indicated that the Claimants’ relied on actions in defamation, harassment,…
Read more17.02.15
'Revenge porn' criminalised in England and Wales
‘Revenge porn’, the term coined for the unauthorised sharing of private sexual photographs or videos, often carried out by spurned lovers over the medium of the Internet, has been criminalised in England and Wales under the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 (‘the Act’) which received Royal Assent on 12 February 2015. When the provisions…
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Articles are intended as an introduction to the topic and do not constitute legal advice.
