International
A Mighty SLAPP: Ontario Judge Dismisses Lawsuits Over Wall Street Journal Reporting
Joseph WeissmanIf the decision stands on appeal, it is likely to strengthen press freedom in Canada, providing useful precedent for media defendants under the relatively new and untested anti-SLAPP law.
ZXC v. Bloomberg – Privacy and the Criminal Process in England
David Barker, Caroline Henzell and Lottie PeachThe case will decide the issue of whether, and to what extent, a person who has not been charged with an offence can have a reasonable expectation of privacy in relation to information that relates to a criminal investigation into their activities.
Landmark Defamation Decision in Australia Says You Are Liable for the Comment Section
Peter Bartlett and Tess McGuireIn a decision with far-reaching ramifications for social media engagement in Australia, the country's top court ruled that media companies may be liable for allegedly defamatory comments left by readers on their Facebook posts.
10 Questions to a Media Lawyer: Harry Melkonian
Harry MelkonianThe Sydney lawyer on career moves, big cases, quarantine living, and more.
Going Big, One Problem at a Time: Europe’s Regulation of Digital Services and Markets Gathers Pace
Remy Chavannes, Anke Strijbos and Dorien VerhulstThe EU is determined to evolve into a self-aware, digitally sovereign bloc that sets the rules by which global technology companies have to operate. However, it is still struggling to make sharp choices between conflicting objectives, such as between privacy and competition, or between consumer protection and the promotion of innovation.
High Court Hands Privacy Victory to Meghan Markle in Battle with Mail on Sunday
Julian DarrallMr Justice Warby gave summary judgment against Associated Newspapers in respect of the privacy claim, and on the issues of subsistence and infringement of copyright, concluding in each case that there was no realistic prospect of ANL successfully defending those issues at trial.
Easier Said than Done? Recent Developments in Ontario’s Anti-SLAPP Law
Iris Fischer, Kaley Pulfer and Justin ManorykAfter several years of uncertainty around the interpretation and application of Ontario’s anti-SLAPP legislation, the past six months have brought a number of important developments.
Contempt and Suppression Down Under
Peter BartlettWhen the third most powerful man in the Vatican was convicted of molesting two choirboys by an Australian jury in December 2018, media companies scrambled worldwide. Yet in Australia, there was media silence on specific details of the case.
Exporting the Sullivan Case…to Belgium
Richard WinfieldAn amicus curiae brief invites the European Court to consider how the U.S. Supreme Court resolved an issue as to whether a public official who is neither named nor identified in public criticism of government has standing in litigation to punish the authors of the criticism.
UK Court Denies U.S. Request to Extradite Julian Assange
Raymond M. BaldinoAccording to UK experts, the United States faces an uphill battle on appeal because the Court’s findings of fact regarding Assange’s mental health are unlikely to be reversed.