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18.01.22

How to identify anonymous anti-vax trolls

In the social media age, anyone can quickly and unintentionally become the subject of online harassment, such as speculation, ridicule, and abuse.  A significant minority are willing to post, retweet or share content without care or critical thinking, spreading misinformation and hate.  A smaller, but still significant, minority actively target and abuse those who do…

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10.01.22

Lexis Nexis Interview: Misuse of private information claims – where are we after Lloyd v Google?

Percy Preston of Brett Wilson LLP is interviewed about the future of misuse of private information claims after the Supreme Court’s decision in Lloyd v Google [2021] UKSC 50 What are the key points the Supreme Court made in Lloyd v Google regarding misuse of private information claims? It is important to note that the…

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2.06.20

High Court strikes out parts of HRH The Duchess of Sussex’s claim against The Mail on Sunday

In HRH The Duchess of Sussex v Associated Newspapers Ltd [2020] EWHC 1058 (Ch), the High Court struck out parts of the Duchess’ claim against Associated Newspapers Limited (‘ANL’), the publisher of The Mail on Sunday and operator of the MailOnline website. Background The Duchess’ claim is for misuse of private information, breach of the…

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29.05.20

Uncle ordered to pay niece £15,000 for sharing private information on Facebook

In JQL v NTP [2020] EWHC 1349 (QB), the Claimant sued the Defendant, her uncle, for publishing a post on Facebook that identified her as having received “treatment for mental health and self-harm”, that was said to be a misuse of her private information.  The post was part of a thread between family members, several…

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7.05.20

COVID-19 Contact tracing apps and your right to privacy

Contact tracing apps are being developed and rolled out by many countries around the world, including the UK, as a tool in the global fight to control the spread of coronavirus.  The UK government has announced that it intends to introduce a contract tracing app later in May, and trials are being conducted this week…

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22.10.19

Injunction granted in STI blackmail case

Often it can be difficult to predict with any certainty whether a Court will grant interim injunctive relief.  Combine, however, an extremely wealthy claimant, the subject matter of his sex life, a freely entered into confidentiality agreement, the absence of a genuine public interest, a blackmail threat and Adam Speker, the barrister who is fast-becoming…

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2.10.19

Strippers denied anonymity in privacy claim

In AAA -v- Rakoff [2019] EWHC 2525 (QB) Mr Justice Nicklin set out the importance of claimants (and their lawyers) setting out a clear and consistent basis for seeking anonymity in civil proceedings. Facts The First and Second Defendants Dr Sasha Rakoff and Not Buying it Limited (‘NBL’) campaign against sexual entertainment venues (SEVs), commonly…

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23.09.19

Gender Identity Clinic faces privacy claims following ‘bcc’ data leak

The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust has admitted accidentally sending an email containing the email addresses of nearly 2,000 patients receiving treatment at its Fulham Palace Road Gender Identity Clinic.  The email in question, sent on 6 September 2019, concerned an art competition, but was inadvertently “cc-ed” (open copied) to recipients, rather than “bcc-ed…

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18.09.19

Ben Stokes, The Sun and Gareth Thomas: muckraking journalism with no regard for private lives

The ‘silly season’ is supposed to be over and the most important constitutional case for many years is currently before the Supreme Court, but these matters did not stop The Sun from publishing on 17 September 2019 a grossly sensationalist and intrusive article about Ben Stokes, the England cricketer, and his family, on its front…

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20.08.19

New rules for media and communications claims

From 1 October 2019 new rules – in the form of a revised Part 53 of the Civil Procedure Rules, revised/new practice directions (PD 7A, 53A and 53B) and an all encompassing pre-action protocol – will apply to claims in England and Wales arising from media and communications disputes. The formal designation of a specialist…

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Articles are intended as an introduction to the topic and do not constitute legal advice.