privacy

The continual tension between what is of interest to the public and what is in the public interest to know has never been more talked about. We have just witnessed married celebrity, 'PJS', battling to maintain a UK super-injunction in the face of global social media and public curiosity, seen Apple defending privacy rights against an FBI demand for it to unlock the San Bernadino attacker’s iPhone, have watched the fallout from the News International  phone hacking scandal and continue to deal with the impact of Edward Snowden’s revelations about global surveillance.  

Gossip columns are filled with the antics of footballers and those appearing on reality TV shows and we are enduring pretty much daily accounts of distress caused by ‘revenge porn’ and Internet trolls.  The damage caused by turning private matters into public speculation and entertainment is far reaching.

Add to this an increased use of social media and CCTV and the commonplace adoption of intrusive technologies for recording and disseminating information and to detect and guard against illegal, unlawful and unacceptable behaviour - it is, perhaps, not surprising that individuals are now demanding an enshrined and enforceable right to privacy and little wonder that competing interests of rights to know and freedom of expression have led to continual developments in this body of law

We advise individuals and businesses on the spectrum of privacy issues including:

• privacy protection. Advising individuals on protecting their privacy against media and corporate intrusion

• accessing information. Advising on how to gain access to information

• image protection and exploitation. Protection of personal images; image rights agreements; protection against unwanted image exploitation

• human rights. Advice on rights under the European Convention on Human Rights and domestic human rights law

• monitoring and surveillance. Guidance on rights to monitor and carry out covert surveillance

• confidentiality. Advising on rights to confidentiality; anonymisation and pseudonymisation of information; breach of confidence claims; obtaining lawful access to confidential information

  policies and procedures. Preparing staff policies and effective procedures for the lawful gathering, use and disclosure of personal and confidential information

See also our training page for details of our workshops, tuition, elearning and public speaking services on the collection, use and consequences of misuse of ‘private’ information.