header-logo header-logo

Everyone’s Invited… regulators included?

31 March 2021 / Simon Cheetham KC
Issue: 7927 / Categories: Opinion , Education , Data protection , Regulatory
printer mail-detail
44606
With allegations of abuse & misconduct hitting the headlines, Simon Cheetham QC examines the data protection implications for the schools investigating them

The increasingly popular website Everyone’s Invited (everyonesinvited.uk) contains thousands of ‘testimonies’ by victims of sexual abuse and misconduct, largely—but by no means exclusively—at private schools. The testimonies are described as being anonymised, although many carry the name of the school or, in some cases, the college or university. It has quickly become a primary source of information, and it also has an Instagram account with tens of thousands of followers.

Data only becomes ‘personal data’ when it is information relating to an identifiable individual and, generally speaking, it will not be possible to identify individuals from these testimonies. Nevertheless, that may not always be the case where there is a named school, year group, description of an individual and so on. For instance, one complaint that was then reported in the media referred to the complainant being part of a cohort of 40 girls

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Freeths—Ruth Clare

Freeths—Ruth Clare

National real estate team bolstered by partner hire in Manchester

Farrer & Co—Claire Gordon

Farrer & Co—Claire Gordon

Partner appointed head of family team

mfg Solicitors—Neil Harrison

mfg Solicitors—Neil Harrison

Firm strengthens agriculture and rural affairs team with partner return

NEWS
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has launched a recruitment drive for talented early career and more senior barristers and solicitors
Regulators differed in the clarity and consistency of their post-Mazur advice and guidance, according to an interim report by the Legal Services Board (LSB)
The Solicitors Act 1974 may still underpin legal regulation, but its age is increasingly showing. Writing in NLJ this week, Victoria Morrison-Hughes of the Association of Costs Lawyers argues that the Act is ‘out of step with modern consumer law’ and actively deters fairness
A Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) ruling has reopened debate on the availability of ‘user damages’ in competition claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Edward Nyman of Hausfeld explains how the CAT allowed Dr Liza Lovdahl Gormsen’s alternative damages case against Meta to proceed, rejecting arguments that such damages are barred in competition law
The next generation is inheriting more than assets—it is inheriting complexity. Writing in NLJ this week, experts from Penningtons Manches Cooper chart how global mobility, blended families and evolving values are reshaping private wealth advice
back-to-top-scroll