Privacy

28.06.19

Lexis Nexis interview: Law surrounding non-consensual intimate images to be reviewed

Brett Wilson LLP partner Iain Wilson and other lawyers are interviewed about the Law Commission’s upcoming review.   The Ministry of Justice has asked the Law Commission to review laws around the making and sharing of non-consensual intimate images in an effort to ensure that ‘protections keep pace with emerging technology’. The review intends to…

14.06.19

Lexis Nexis interview: Using the GDPR in a privacy claim

Information Law analysis: Iain Wilson, managing partner at Brett Wilson LLP, comments on the utility of the GDPR in privacy cases in light of the recent case brought by the Duke of Sussex, which was settled out of court. How can someone use the GDPR to battle an invasion of privacy? Where private information is…

24.05.19

Iain Wilson writes in the Daily Mail about the abuse of parliamentary privilege

The Daily Mail has published an article by Brett Wilson LLP partner Iain Wilson about the growing trend of parliamentary privilege being used to circumvent court orders and make statements that would otherwise be considered defamatory.  The article can be found here.

16.05.19

Paparazzi agencies pay damages to Duke of Sussex for privacy invasion

Splash News and Picture Agency Limited and Splash News & Picture Agency LLC (‘Splash’) have apologised and agreed to pay substantial damages to the Duke of Sussex after using a helicopter to take photographs of his home in the Cotswolds. In January of this year Splash chartered a helicopter which flow over the Duke’s home…

15.05.19

Police request access to complainants’ data: A form in a teacup?

A new standard police form requesting agreement to access complainants’ phone data has caused controversy. The not-very-snappily-titled ‘NPCC Final Consent v-1-2’ form is designed to achieve a consistent system for accessing the electronic devices of victims and witnesses. A copy is available here. This can only be done with that person’s consent. As such, the…

Supreme Court grants permission to appeal in mass data breach case

The Supreme Court has granted the defendant supermarket chain permission to appeal the Court of Appeal’s decision in WM Morrison Supermarkets Plc v Various Claimants [2018] EWCA Civ 2339. The appeal will consider the principle of vicarious liability in respect of statutory data protection claims and common law misuse of private information claims. The claim…

13.05.19

Is it time to stop talking about gagging clauses?

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has announced it has referred a solicitor from magic circle firm Allen & Overy to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal over drawing-up a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) on behalf of film Producer Harvey Weinstein.  It is understood the agreement, in essence, paid Mr Weinstein’s former assistant Zelda Perkins a large sum in…

24.04.19

Can’t pay? Court of Appeal does not take claimants’ damages away (but neither will it increase them)

In Ali & Anor v Channel 5 Broadcasting Ltd [2019] EWCA Civ 677, the Court of Appeal considered whether countervailing privacy and the public interest/freedom of expression rights had been properly balanced, together with the appropriate award of privacy damages arising from footage of an eviction shown on Channel 5, the Defendant in this action….

16.04.19

Pregnancy club fined £400,000 for sharing personal data of 14 million individuals

Bounty UK, an online club for pregnancy and parenthood advice has been fined £400,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office (‘ICO’) following the discovery that the personal data of its users had been shared with 39 other companies without informed consent.  A copy of the Monetary Penalty Notice can be found here. Bounty UK collected personal…

21.03.19

Actress Tina Malone receives suspended sentence after breaching Venables/Thompson injunction

Actress, Tina Malone, has received an eight-month suspended prison sentence for purporting to publish a photograph and information relating to the new identity of Jon Venables – one of James Bulgar’s killers. Background In 1993 Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, at the time aged 10, were convicted of murdering two-year-old James Bulgar.  It was a…