England: Number of privacy cases doubles over half-decade

The number of reported court cases involving privacy arguments has doubled in the last five years to a new high of 58 per year, according to Thomson Reuters.

Research conducted using online services Lawtel and Westlaw found around a fifth of reported cases using privacy arguments in the last year involved celebrities and politicians.

More than a third (36 per cent) of cases relate to the personal information handled by public sector organisations and disputes over whom has access to it.

Jonathan Cooper, barrister at Doughty Street Chambers and editor of European Human Rights Law Review, said: “The debate over the use of privacy injunctions has reignited after a number of years in which their usage had tailed off. The media has expressed concerns that it is too easy for public figures to use this tool to control what was being published about their private lives.”

He added: “Questions have been raised over how appropriate privacy injunctions are now that information on celebrity scandals can be so widely passed through social media tools and by looking at overseas media on the internet.

“Injunctions only affect the publication of stories in England and Wales. Media organisations and individuals elsewhere can report on a story or post on social media without fear of censure as they are often beyond the reach of English and Welsh courts.”

Since the introduction of the Human Rights Act, more cases have concerned the extent to which individuals have a right to determine what happens to information after they have provided it to a company or a public sector body.

Mr Cooper said: “The extent to which individuals should have absolute control over information provided by them is continually being tested and the use of privacy arguments is steadily rising.

“Information shared with the US intelligence agencies is the most high-profile example; other examples relate to the tagging of ex-offenders, the rules around the disclosure of past criminal records and even the kind of questions that public bodies are entitled to ask. The concept of privacy now extends far beyond media law.

“As the ways in which we communicate and capture information become ever more complex, the bounds of privacy law will be developing. However, the onus is likely to continue to be on those who wish to access or exchange information to demonstrate clearly and specifically why they have a legal right to do so.”