Top Legal News
E-commerce Regulations updated to exempt ISPs from hate speech charges
The Government has published Regulations that will absolve internet service providers (ISPs) and other digital service providers of responsibility for religion or sexuality-related hate speech transmitted over their networks. More »
Google performs human rights U-turn, threatens China exit
Google has said that it will stop doing business in China unless it can operate without government-imposed censorship. The announcement follows hacks of Google's systems that it said were intended to snoop on the email accounts of human rights activists. More »
Government amends plan for ministerial power to change copyright law
The Government has modified its proposal to allow ministers to change copyright law without going through a full legislative process. The move follows a campaign against the powers waged by opposition parties. More »
Scottish pleural plaques law survives insurer challenge
A Scottish court has rejected an attempt to overturn a new law restoring the ability for people diagnosed with pleural plaques to claim damages in Scotland. More »
Economics backs net neutrality, say researchers
Net neutrality is not just the fairest way to organise the internet but the most economically effective, according to two US academics. Their economic analysis of the policy claims that it is the best way to encourage investment in online services. More »
Encryption alone will not secure data, warns expert after code cracks
Encryption on its own will no longer be enough to protect data, according to one information security specialist. Secondary authentication from pass codes or biometrics will soon be essential after two encryption technologies were cracked, he said. More »
Government confirms Ó500,000 fines for worst data protection offenders
Organisations responsible for major breaches of personal information security will face fines up to Ó500,000 from 6th April this year. The long-awaited penalties for serious data protection breaches have been approved by the Government. More »
Peer proposes copyright exemption for search engines
A Conservative peer has proposed creating a new exemption from copyright law for search engines that create copies of web pages in order to perform their search duties. More »
France mulls Google tax and competition probe
French president Nicolas Sarkozy is considering a plan to pursue a competition law case against Google over its dominant position in the search engine market and another proposal which would increase taxes on internet companies. More »
Missouri Court of Appeals says link to terms is sufficient for contract
A website could enforce its terms and conditions even when a user neither visited them nor checked a box to indicate her acceptance, a US court has ruled. It was sufficient that a link to the terms was placed next to a 'submit' button, the court said. More »