Privacy law

Privacy law applies to everyone but we only really hear about it when a celebrity or other public figure invokes their right to have personal information kept out of the media spotlight.

The right to a private and family life is enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). However, it often conflicts with another right contained in the ECHR, the right to freedom of expression. The media often invoke this right in order to print or report a story about somebody famous.

In this part of the blog we will keep you updated with any changes to privacy law, and the most interesting case studies as they happen.

Contact Law can put you in touch with a solicitor specialising in privacy law if you find yourself in a situation where your right to privacy is being infringed. Fast action is often required to ensure the story isn’t published. Our solicitors can act quickly to prevent publication.

Leveson inquiry considers alternative regulations for social media

Lord Justice Leveson has indicated that different forms of regulation might be needed for online social media sites and online newspapers. Leveson is the Chairman of the Leveson Inquiry, which is charged with investigating current media practices and culture. Leveson highlighted that there is a difference between general gossip conversations and news-related storied.

News International settlement with phone-hacking victims

News International yesterday agreed to pay compensation to 37 victims who had their phones hacked by News of the World. The victims alleged that senior employees of the News International subsidiary News Group Newspapers (NGN), which published News of the World, were aware of the illegal practices and tried to hide evidence from investigators. After [...]

Shopping centres’ tracking system raises privacy concerns

Shopping centres are increasingly using devices to track their visitors’ movements. Such equipment tracks the signal of customers’ mobile phones to monitor which shops they visit and the time they spend in each spot. Most consumers are unaware that their movements are being tracked. This lack of consent raises privacy issues, according to Nick Pickles [...]

Access to justice threatened by Government’s proposal to scrap no-win, no-fee arrangements

The Justice Secretary, Ken Clarke, hopes to limit the availability of no-win, no-fee arrangements through the Government’s Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill. The Bill is receiving its Second Reading in the House of Lords today. Peter Lodder QC, Chairman of the Bar Council, has raised concerns over the implications of the Bill. [...]

Lord Patten argues against statutory regulation of press

The News of the World phone hacking scandal continues to dominate headlines. The outrage that followed it saw several calls for further regulation of the press. However, the Chairman of the BBC Trust, Lord Patten, has stressed that in protecting privacy, caution is needed to maintain freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Lord [...]

News of the World embroiled in more breach of privacy

Solicitors representing some of the victims of the News of the World phone-hacking scandal have allegedly been secretly followed. The paper is said to have paid Derek Webb, a specialist private investigator and former police officer trained in surveillance by MI5, to follow solicitors Mark Lewis and Charlotte Harris. Allegedly, the paper hoped to catch [...]

Is public privacy being invaded by surveillance equipment?

A report published yesterday by the human rights organisation Justice revealed that three million snooping operations had been carried out into the life of Britons since 2000. These included phone tapping and concealing cameras in bins to observe families’ movements. The report, Freedom from Suspicion, says that the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa) has [...]

Cyber crime on the increase?

Cyber crime is still increasing significantly, according to recent figures released on the number of attacks suffered by Government agencies. However, the impact of cyber crime also affects individuals and businesses. The threat is so severe that it poses a real risk to the success of industry and countries’ economies, warned to Iain Lobham, the [...]

Jeremy Clarkson lifts super-injunction

Last year, the Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson took out a super-injunction that prevented his ex-wife from disclosing information concerning his private life. However, Clarkson yesterday decided to have it lifted through an application to the High Court. A super-injunction is not the same as a plain injunction in that its existence is not to [...]

The dark world of phone hacking

With the surprising but quite expected development that the News of the world would print its last ever newspaper on Sunday the 10 July 2011, the world was suddenly exposed to the dark and illegal world of phone hacking by the media, which has been going on for over a decade now.  (More…)