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03 September 2021 / Dean Armstrong KC , Paul Schwartfeger
Issue: 7946 / Categories: Features , Cyber
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Blockchain: the right to be forgotten (or not)

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Dean Armstrong QC & Paul Schwartfeger, 36 Commercial, consider how organisations can & should respond to erasure requests on blockchain
  • The right to erasure under Article 17 under the UK GDPR is not absolute and specialist lawyers ought to be involved in blockchain projects from their outset, to assess their suitability for compliance.

Now that the UK has left the EU and the transition period has ended, the provisions of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) no longer strictly apply to the UK, albeit the Regulation’s extraterritorial reach continues to affect those offering goods or services to data subjects in the EU. Even for those who only serve individuals in the UK, however, the Regulation’s effects continue to be felt, as its provisions have been incorporated into domestic law as the ‘UK GDPR’.

Practically speaking, the core data principles, rights and obligations remain largely unchanged as a result of this regulatory switch, and as such this article makes no distinction in its analysis

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Firm awards training contracts to paralegals through internal programme

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Cumbria firm appoints new head of residential property

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
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