Following criticism of a number of recent arrests and prosecutions relating to postings on social media sites, the Director of Public Prosecutions has published new draft guidelines. These confirm that postings that break criminal laws on threats, harassment and breaching court orders should generally be “prosecuted robustly” under the specific legislation for those crimes. When […]
Month: December 2012
The Joint Committee on Human Rights has published its conclusions on the Defamation Bill. Among other changes the Bill intends to clarify the position of websites that accept posts from third parties and make it less likely that lawful posts will be removed because of fear of liability. The Committee are “glad to see steps […]
The Joint Committee on the Draft Communications Bill has published its report, concluding that while there is “a case for legislation which will provide the law enforcement agencies with some further access to communications data” the current proposal needs “substantial re-writing”. The Committee address three of the four concerns raised in our Janet evidence. They […]
The Law Commission have published an interesting consultation paper on how the law of contempt of court is affected by the internet. Anything that “tends to interfere with the course of justice” may be considered contempt: the Contempt of Court Act 1981 deals in particular with communications addressed to the public at large or a […]
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New CAP rules on behavioural advertising
The Committee on Advertising Practice (CAP) has announced new rules on online behavioural advertising. UK advertisers will be expected to comply with these rules from 4th February 2013. Unlike the much-discussed cookie law, the CAP rules are technology neutral, concentrating instead on the actions involved in providing on-line adverts that are targeted to individuals’ patterns […]