16 Feb 2011 | Index Index, minipost
David Beckham’s libel case against In Touch magazine has been thrown out of an American court. Beckham brought the £15.5m lawsuit over an article which alleged that he had paid for sex with a prostitute. He sought USD25m in compensation. The judge accepted that the article was innaccurate but could not establish malice on the facts of the case. This is required under US law, although a German court has found in their favour and awarded damages. He intends to appeal the decision.
9 Feb 2011 | Index Index, minipost, News
Video game Bulletstorm will be released in heavily-censored form in Germany. Regulators will remove several features from the full version, including blood, dismemberment and “ragdoll effects”. This censorship will be imposed even though the game has attracted a USK18+ certificate. Germany has previously considered introducing a national ban on violent games, but this plan was ultimately aborted.
25 Oct 2010 | Index Index, minipost
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), Britain’s privacy watchdog, has reopened its investigation into Google Street View after the company admitted it copied personal data. Google is facing similar pressures from privacy watchdogs in other countries, including Spain, Germany, and Canada. In May, the ICO had investigated revelations that Google had gathered unprotected information but it concluded that no “significant” personal details had been collected. The renewed scrutiny stems from Google’s admission, following analysis by other privacy bodies, that they had harvested more information than previously thought.
13 Sep 2010 | Index Index, minipost
Over 7,500 people joined a rally in Berlin on 12 September to appeal for greater data privacy. The demonstration expressed concerns about a government database that will collect information about wages, taxes and social payments. Under the banner “Liberty instead of Fear!” they also denounced a new agreement that allows US authorities to access European banking data for anti-terror investigations.
