The Law Commission has published a report which recommends to the UK Parliament a number of changes regarding the effectiveness of search warrants and access to digital material. Such changes would give UK law enforcement agencies further powers to access online material during criminal investigations.
Facebook, YouTube and Twitter have agreed to be subject to a new self-regulatory framework for moderation of harmful online content as part of their efforts to curb hate speech and end the advertising boycott against them.
In order to clear a backlog of criminal law cases, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) has announced plans to have juries hear High Court trials in selected Odeon cinemas. Jurors will remotely observe trials in an environment that is compliant with social distancing regulations.
Airbnb is banning under-25s from booking entire properties in the UK, France and Spain. The crackdown is an effort to prevent house parties, which skirt social distancing rules amid COVID-19.
MPs have been debating the use of polygraph tests on those convicted of terrorism-related offences and released on licence (serving the remainder of their sentence in the community). The amendments to the Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Bill would introduce mandatory polygraph testing on Very High/High risk Serious Harm terrorist offenders.
Major brands, such as CocaCola, Unilever, Starbucks and Verizon have joined together to boycott advertising on Facebook, in a campaign labelled “Stop Hate for Profit”.
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled in Bostock v. Clayton County [2020] that the language of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of “sex”, includes discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
A pattern of racialised institutional abuse and brutality in America has led to growing calls to “defund the police”.
After his alleged breach of lockdown rules was excused by the police and the government, Dominic Cummings is now facing the prospect of a private prosecution for the alleged road traffic offence of driving to Barnard Castle with defective eyesight.
The Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Dame Cressida Dick, has stated that people protesting on the streets are at risk of on-the-spot fines of upwards of £100, or even a criminal record for defying social distancing regulations. The question arises as to how compatible this approach is with protestors’ human rights.