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30 October 2019
Issue: 7862 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Regulatory , Technology , Data protection
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Bypassing the badge?

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A solicitor is refusing to display the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) digital badge on the grounds it is an ‘illegal gimmick’ and fails to comply with data protection laws. 

All firms are required to display the badge on their website by 25 November, on pain of disciplinary action. Solicitor George Gardiner, of Gardiner & Co, however, has set out on his website a list of reasons why he’s not going to comply.

He disputes the SRA’s claim that the badge will ‘reduce fraud and enhance client protection’ and warns there is a risk the badge could be ‘subverted and misapplied’.

An SRA spokesperson said: ‘We do not have access, record or store any additional data such as IP addresses or page navigation behaviour. We do not collect data that would identify an individual.’

Issue: 7862 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Regulatory , Technology , Data protection
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Firm expands with new Grimsby office to serve North East Lincolnshire

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

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NEWS
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Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
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