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21st century problems

17 June 2016 / Peter Thompson KC
Issue: 7703 / Categories: Opinion
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Look to the data protection principles to solve hacking & trolling complaints, says Peter Thompson QC

It has been the biggest innovation in the law of tort since trespass on the case. But it is never used. Well, hardly ever, although it offers a legal remedy for so many of our 21st century problems, such as hacking, trolling, identity theft, vulgar abuse, injurious falsehood and unauthorised surveillance.

I mean, of course, s 13 of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA 1998). In case you need reminding, that provides that an individual who suffers damage by reason of any contravention by a data controller of any of the requirements of DPA 1998 is entitled to compensation from the data controller for that damage. As for the requirements of DPA 1998, the data controller of “personal data” (data concerning an individual by which the individual can be identified) is required by s 4 to comply with the data protection principles in the processing of all personal data. Big businesses are data controllers in a big way. So are

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DWF—19 appointments

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Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

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Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

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The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
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