Take 10 #4

Welcome to RPC's media and communications law update. This issue reports on key media developments and the latest cases.

News items

New Civil Procedure Rules to replace Part 81 

The new rules, which came into effect on 1 October 2020, change the procedure for contempt of court applications, although the substantive law remains the same.  Read more

Data Don'ts  

Digital Growth Experts Limited (DGEL) has been fined £60,000 by the ICO for sending out thousands of marketing texts, of which 16,190 were received over the period of one month, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Read more

Freedom of Information  

The Home Office is considering whether applicants living overseas are entitled to a response when submitting FOI requests to UK government departments.  Read more

Journalistic protections 

The Law Commission has made recommendations about the scope of search warrants, including considering the right of access to confidential journalistic material. Read more

Wikileaks 

Back in September, Computer scientist Professor Christian Grothoff defended Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange in evidence given to the Old Bailey, claiming that the unredacted national defence documents Assange was accused of publishing had already been made public on other websites and that this "would [have been] virtually impossible to stop." Read more

Chatter

Vardy v Rooney

In the latest instalment of the Wagatha Christie drama, Coleen Rooney has filed her defence in the libel proceedings initiated against her by Rebekah Vardy. Read more

Finding Freedom?

Associated Newspapers has been granted permission to amend its Defence in Sussex v Associated to include allegations that the Duchess of Sussex provided private information to the authors of the biography, Finding Freedom. Read more

Laurence Fox

Laurence Fox is facing potential defamation proceedings from both Drag Race UK star Crystal and deputy chair of the charity Stonewall Simon Blake after a series of argumentative tweets passed between both Fox and Crystal and Fox and Blake. Read more

Carbon neutral newspapers? 

In October 2019, the Guardian pledged to go carbon neutral by 2030. The publisher has now set out its "clear path" to achieve this target with the goal to eliminate at least two-thirds of its emissions and full supply chain, and to offset the rest. Read more

Legal Twitter

Legal Twitter has come out fighting after Priti Patel's denouncement at the Conservative party Conference of 'lefty lawyers' and 'do-gooders' for defending the 'broken [asylum] system'.  Read more

Quote of the fortnight:

 "Journalists must have confidence that their material remains protected if they are to guarantee source protection and ultimately fulfil their important public interest roles.” – Ian Murray, executive director of the Society of Editors.