As more and more everyday products are produced with internet connectivity – whether it actually improves functionality or is more of a gimmick – there are increased concerns regarding cybersecurity and data protection.
The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to
Continue Reading Smart doorbells: data protection concerns
As announced in June 2021, from April 2022 significant court judgments past and present from the High Court, the Court of Appeal, the Crown Court, the House of Lords, the Supreme Court, the Privy Council, and other courts and
Continue Reading Court judgments to be publicly available from The National Archives
I have been writing about the internet for lawyers since 1995 when it first entered the public consciousness and the first few legal websites were born. These early writings, and many since, are published on my blog Binary Law.
Continue Reading The Internet for Lawyers (reprise)
Some years ago the editor of this Newsletter complained of the over-use of the description “artificial intelligence” in legal products: “hyping AI is unhelpful”, he said. “AI is just what computers do.” And he’s not alone in expressing
Continue Reading ICLR.4 and the genie in the bottle
The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) recently issued its largest ever fine in respect of a breach of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by WhatsApp. Following an extensive investigation, it concluded that the messaging service, owned by Facebook, had
Continue Reading GDPR fines: implications of the WhatsApp decision
Since the beginning of the “information revolution” there has built up a tension between the rights of the owners of information and other intellectual property and the practical ability and desire of others to exploit that property using the developing
Continue Reading The internet as a commons
In June 2021, the Law Society of England & Wales published its report Future Worlds 2050: Images of the Future Worlds Facing the Legal Profession 2020-2030.
This project was “set up to bring an exceptional group of thinkers to
Continue Reading Future Legal Worlds 2050: into the unknown
Innovation has, for lawyers, become an area of intense interest. It is likewise a concern and an increasing imperative among lawyers. With the legal services industry undergoing major economic and technological changes − such as digitalization, open data, blockchain technology,
Continue Reading Mapping legal innovation
The internet has been a significant contributing factor to globalisation over the past couple of decades, notably leading to the creation of tech giants such as Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon. Although many of these companies are based in Silicon
Continue Reading Big tech, small tax: time to pay?
Back in April 2021 I wrote an article for this newsletter about the Sunburst cyberattack, referencing a blog from Microsoft President Brad Smith in which he warned that mercenary-style technology companies, known as private sector offensive actors (PSOAs), are
Continue Reading Pegasus spyware scandal: what lawyers need to know
