Privacy

Role models and hypocrites - Max Mosley on tabloids, privacy and the law

By Legal Week | October 21, 2011

The tabloids advance two main arguments for invading privacy to reveal someone's sex life. The first is that their victim is a role model who must be exposed if he has not behaved impeccably. The second is that it's their job to expose hypocrites who mislead the public by saying one thing and doing another. Both arguments are flawed. The role model argument is hopeless. A famous sportsman is undoubtedly a role model when practising his sport. You would not want a famous footballer to foul consistently lest other, lesser footballers followed his example. But he's not a role model in his sex life. Sex is not the reason for his fame nor the reason he's admired. It's irrelevant to his 'role' which is playing football.

1 minute read

Law Soc chief exec sees Solicitors from Hell slander charge thrown out

By Suzi Ring | October 21, 2011

A claim of alleged slander brought by Solicitors from Hell owner Rick Kordowski against Law Society chief executive Desmond Hudson has been struck out of court. Kordowski had claimed Hudson slandered him in comments he allegedly made to Professor John Flood of the University of Westminster in which, according to a blog published by Flood on 22 July this year, he called Kordowski a "criminal".

1 minute read

RPC takes lead role on Morrissey's libel dispute with NME

By Sofia Lind | October 19, 2011

Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC) and media boutique Russells Solicitors are advising on the a dispute between former Smiths frontman Morrissey and music magazine NME which could see one of the first UK libel cases heard before a jury in recent years. NME has requested to strike out the libel lawsuit, which was brought against the magazine's former editor Conor McNicholas and its publisher IPC Media by Morrissey four years ago.

1 minute read

Parliamentary committee pushes for libel reforms to go further

By Suzi Ring | October 18, 2011

The draft Defamation Bill does not go far enough to address the "unacceptably" high costs of libel cases, according to the committee charged with reviewing the bill. In a report issued today (19 October), the committee of six MPs and six peers has recommended that the proposal to promote early dispute resolution outside of court should be taken a step further and made enforceable, with "a presumption that mediation or neutral evaluation will be the norm."

1 minute read

News Corp replaces Farrers with Olswang for phone-hacking work

By Suzi Ring | October 17, 2011

News Corporation has parted ways with legal adviser Farrer & Co and appointed Olswang to advise it on all civil claims relating to phone-hacking at the News of the World (NoW). Farrers has been the primary adviser to the now-defunct tabloid throughout the phone-hacking scandal, and is understood to have advised on more than 60 cases taken out by alleged victims.

1 minute read

Carter-Ruck's take on the Trafigura story: who guards the Guardian?

By Legal Week | October 17, 2011

In the last three years The Guardian has published over 200 articles relating to Trafigura, the vast majority of which have referred to the 'super-injunction' which the company obtained against the newspaper and to Carter-Ruck's apparent attempts to gag the reporting of Parliament. Despite this saturation coverage, some questions remain unanswered. Before I turn to the questions I want to say something about the basic facts of the case which have become entirely lost in the furore about 'gags', superinjunctions and parliamentary privilege.

1 minute read

Is the Official Secrets Act about to be used to gag journalism?

By Legal Week | September 19, 2011

Nine years ago, in March 2002, Amanda 'Milly' Dowler was on her way home from school. She was kidnapped and murdered and her body was found in September 2002. In June 2011, Levi Bellfield was convicted of her murder and sentenced to a 'whole life' tariff. When Milly went missing, journalists of the News of the World newspaper hacked into her voicemail. The fact that this had happened came to public prominence in July 2011 when The Guardian revealed the story.

1 minute read

The libel survivor - what it's like to be faced with a gruelling libel claim

By Legal Week | September 14, 2011

Between 2007 and 2011 I was embroiled in what has become one of the most controversial libel cases in recent history. The claimant in my case wasn't a Russian oligarch, an A-list celebrity or an Arab billionaire (groups who seem to issue writs like they are going out of fashion) but a seemingly innocuous super-wealthy self-styled 'holy man' from the Punjab (a state in Northern India) who is reported never to have stepped foot in Britain nor apparently reads, writes or speaks any English. He went by the grandiose title His Holiness Sant Baba Jeet Singh ji Maharaj.

1 minute read

Online defamation cases 'double', defamation claims decline by 47%

By Legal Week | August 31, 2011

There have been a number of recent reports based on some research by Sweet & Maxwell into defamation cases. The Guardian headline is Rise in defamation cases involving blogs and Twitter while The Independent tells readers Online libel cases double. This does not give the full picture.

1 minute read

MP's 'super-injunction victim' named as sex abuse fabricator

By Legal Week | August 26, 2011

On 26 April 2011, on a point of order but in apparent breach of a High Court injunction, Mr John Hemming MP claimed that Vicky Haigh, a horse trainer and former jockey, "was the subject of an attempt by Doncaster council to imprison her for speaking at a meeting in Parliament". A number of Twitter accounts subsequently disclosed that the injunction had been granted in family proceedings in which Ms Haigh had claimed that her former partner, David Tune, was a paedophile who had abused their daughter for some years.

1 minute read

Corporate Counsel

FTC Claims Genetic Testing Company Publicly Exposed Health Data

By Maria Dinzeo | June 16, 2023

"Companies that try to change the rules of the game by re-writing their privacy policy are on notice," Samuel Levine, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement Friday.

4 minute read

New York Law Journal

Biometric Regulation Leaps Forward With FTC Policy Statement

By Amanda R. Griner and Deborah M. Isaacson | June 16, 2023

A number of states across the country have passed laws focused on regulating the commercial use of facial recognition and other biometric information technologies. Here in New York, bills were introduced in January and February relating to biometric privacy. Most importantly, on May 18 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued the policy statement "Biometric Information and Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act." After briefly reviewing the current developments, this article delves into the policy statement and the implications for businesses in New York and elsewhere.

10 minute read

Legaltech News

Florida's New Data Privacy Bill Is an Outlier, Going Both Broad and Narrow

By Cassandre Coyer | June 15, 2023

Florida's newly signed Digital Bill of Rights comes with unique provisions that data privacy professionals say could catch some companies by surprise.

4 minute read

Corporate Counsel

AI Startup Taps DoorDash Privacy Lead as CLO

By Maria Dinzeo | June 15, 2023

"As the market matures, security, compliance and privacy will become a top priority for companies looking to leverage AI solutions. It's important that AI firms, like Inbenta, take steps now to differentiate themselves in this area," Inbenta CLO Adam Rivera said of his new role.

2 minute read

Legaltech News

Wilson Sonsini Strenghtens Brussels Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice With Regulatory Hire

By Linda A. Thompson | June 13, 2023

The Silicon Valley-headquartered firm already has one of the largest data and cybersecurity practices in Brussels.

4 minute read

The Recorder

Wilson Sonsini Hires Baker McKenzie Partner and Former Regulator in Brussels

By Lisa Shuchman | June 13, 2023

The Silicon Valley-headquartered firm already has one of the largest data and cybersecurity practices in Brussels.

4 minute read

Law.com

Putative Class Action Launched Against Geico for Alleged Secret Reporting of Video-Watcher's Data to Google

By Jason Grant | Riley Brennan | June 12, 2023

"When Plaintiff watched videos on the Website, Defendants disclosed information that allowed Google (and any ordinary person) to readily identify Plaintiff's video-watching behavior," the complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles alleges.

3 minute read

Legaltech News

Vendors Market Gen AI Models as Safe or Privacy-Compliant. How Does Legal Check?

By Cassandre Coyer | June 8, 2023

As a response to the legal industry's worries about generative AI, vendors have emphasized the safety and security of their products. But some say vendors can fall short of meeting their security requirements, while others have made misleading announcements.

5 minute read

Legaltech News

How Good Contract Management Is Key to Navigating a Complex Regulatory Landscape

By David Rawson, Factor | June 8, 2023

Data privacy regulations are set to go into effect in five different states this year, with at least 25 other states also considering comprehensive data privacy legislation in 2023. Fortunately, there are contract management strategies that can significantly lighten the burden of increasingly complex regulatory obligations.

6 minute read

Connecticut Law Tribune

New Data Privacy Law to Take Effect: Here's What Attorneys Need to Know

By Emily Cousins | June 7, 2023

"By and large, liability will be imposed solely by Connecticut's Office of the Attorney General, but there's always the potential for lawsuits because plaintiffs attorneys are very smart about looking for other laws to use as the basis for claims," Russell F. Anderson said.

5 minute read