Ofcom has today published its ‘roadmap to regulation’ if and when the Online Safety Bill becomes law, together with a ‘call for evidence’ for the first phase of online safety regulation. Both are premised on the current version of the Online Safety Bill, which is acknowledged to be subject to alteration as the legislation goes through the Parliamentary process.
Online Safety Bill: first indications of Ofcom’s regulatory approach
July 6th, 2022 by Rupert Paines
Representation of the people: Lloyd v Google in the Supreme Court
November 10th, 2021 by Rupert PainesThis morning, the Supreme Court handed down judgment in Lloyd v Google LLC [2021] UKSC 50, undoubtedly one of the most important and eagerly awaited data privacy judgments to date.
Mixed Data in the Court of Appeal
July 2nd, 2018 by Rupert PainesHot off (Thursday’s) press comes the CA judgment in DB v GMC [2018] EWCA Civ 1497, which will now be the leading case on the treatment of mixed personal data.
A Christmas Present for Privacy Activists: Tele2 Sverige / Davis & Watson
December 22nd, 2016 by Rupert PainesA hitherto-overlooked element of the Christmas story is the significant role of personal data in the fulfilment of ancient prophecy.
A Human Right to Freedom of Information
November 14th, 2016 by Rupert PainesLast week, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights handed down its much-awaited judgment in Magyar Helsinki Bizottság v Hungary (18030/11) (see previous post here). The judgment, over a year in formulation, is a landmark in the application of human rights principles in the freedom of information arena.
Ingenuous but not Ingenious: Confidentiality in the Supreme Court
October 20th, 2016 by Rupert PainesIn 2012 HMRC’s then Permanent Secretary for Tax, Dave Hartnett, had an ‘off the record’ (but audio-recorded) meeting with two Times financial journalists, intended as a background briefing on tax avoidance. One topic of discussion was film investment schemes, designed to utilise tax relief for film production partnerships. Mr Hartnett made a number of comments about one agency, Ingenious Media, and its founder Patrick McKenna, including that Mr McKenna had “never left [Mr Hartnett’s] radar”, that “he’s a big risk”, that HMRC “would like to recover lots of the tax relief” from Ingenious’ schemes and that “we’ll clean up on film schemes over the next few years”. Read more »