Latest Posts

The EU eEvidence framework and UK Internet and telecoms service providers

Published on 2026-08-12 09:10:52 by Neil Brown

Jury service (27 July - 7 August) and what to expect while I'm away

Published on 2026-07-01 09:01:51 by Neil Brown

Internet services sanctions (June 2026)

Published on 2026-06-23 15:09:01 by Neil Brown

New requirements for facilitating and handling data protection complaints

Published on 2026-05-05 09:56:12 by Neil Brown

Brief comments on two proposed new criminal offences relating to pornography: strangulation / suffocation, and sex (actually or purportedly) between relatives

Published on 2026-04-16 09:23:22 by Neil Brown

The European Data Protection Board is consulting on a template data protection impact assessment for the EU GDPR

Published on 2026-04-15 13:17:54 by Neil Brown

Ofcom 'deadlock' period for ADR reduced to six weeks, for complaints raised on and after 8 April 2026

Published on 2026-04-09 10:02:59 by Neil Brown

What number of UK users constitutes a 'significant number' for the purposes of the Online Safety Act 2023?

Published on 2026-03-24 14:00:44 by Neil Brown

The OSA, sex blogs, erotica, and Ofcom's approach to enforcement

Published on 2026-03-17 09:20:16 by Neil Brown

An overview of the UK's updated laws on storing information in someone's terminal equipment, and accessing information stored in someone's terminal equipment

Published on 2026-02-27 11:47:20 by Neil Brown

Russmedia: a court case imposing data protection obligations which many website operators may struggle to meet?

Published on 2026-02-11 16:32:49 by Neil Brown

Internet services sanctions (January 2026)

Published on 2026-01-07 10:07:12 by Neil Brown

decoded.legal is 10 years old!

Published on 2026-01-05 09:20:00 by Neil Brown

Happy holidays 2025

Published on 2025-12-23 08:40:38 by Neil Brown

A proposed legislative amendment to attempt to ban under 16s in the UK from common messaging services, sharing family photos, using Wikipedia, and doing much else online, by imposing age assurance on everyone

Published on 2025-12-18 10:49:59 by Neil Brown

A proposed legislative amendment to attempt to compel VPN services providers to prevent anyone under 18 in the UK from using their VPNs

Published on 2025-12-15 10:03:35 by Neil Brown

Deemed compliance with the UK IoT security requirement to have a relevant connectable product accompanied by a statement of compliance

Published on 2025-12-05 16:49:00 by Neil Brown

Would you like a decoded.legal holiday card? (2025 edition)

Published on 2025-11-24 09:18:47 by Neil Brown

Preparing for the burst of the AI bubble (or just good business planning)

Published on 2025-11-20 10:26:12 by Neil Brown

Announcing decoded.legal, gopher-edition

Published on 2025-10-11 08:44:42 by Neil Brown

The UK/USA Data Access Agreement, and the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 partial commencement

Published on 2025-09-03 10:06:31 by Neil Brown

ISPs and telcos: check your pre-contractual information and contract summaries

Published on 2025-07-31 10:36:16 by Neil Brown

The Data Use and Access Act 2025: personal data breach notification timescales, and a lawful basis for UK/USA Data Access Agreement requests

Published on 2025-07-01 14:12:22 by Neil Brown

A proposed new power to allow police (and others) to extract online information from devices following seizure

Published on 2025-06-18 15:11:52 by Neil Brown

Notes from the University of Sussex's 'The Future of the Online Safety Act 2023'

Published on 2025-06-07 19:21:11 by Neil Brown

Free sources of English and other laws as alternatives to AI

Published on 2025-05-23 19:01:22 by Neil Brown

Ofcom bans leasing of Global Titles and imposes broader requirements on non-leasing use of GTs

Published on 2025-04-23 10:53:02 by Neil Brown

The UK's proposed measures for court orders to suspend IP addresses and domain names

Published on 2025-04-08 09:08:22 by Neil Brown

Updated handling of errors and personal data breaches under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016

Published on 2025-03-26 12:44:51 by Neil Brown

It is time to make the Online Safety Act 2023 fit for purpose

Published on 2025-03-06 09:27:48 by Neil Brown

SIM farms, GSM gateways, COMUGs and the Crime and Policing Bill

Published on 2025-02-24 12:37:07 by Neil Brown

Some UK Internet Services Sanctions that I only just spotted

Published on 2025-02-11 16:02:24 by Neil Brown

UK data protection fees to increase by 30%

Published on 2025-01-20 14:35:47 by Neil Brown

Reminder: new Ofcom rules on inflation-linked price rises in telecoms/connectivity agreements start on 17 January

Published on 2025-01-15 08:13:26 by Neil Brown

Wishing you happy holidays

Published on 2024-12-20 14:59:59 by Neil Brown

Would you like a decoded.legal Christmas card? (2024 edition)

Published on 2024-11-27 08:38:54 by Neil Brown

Helping lawyers understand the basics of core tech, 2024 edition (with slides)

Published on 2024-11-08 07:39:01 by Neil Brown

New regulations set out circumstances in which the Secretary of State can intervene in the running of internet domain registries for UK-related domains

Published on 2024-10-23 18:12:07 by Neil Brown

What the Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Act 2024 means for UK telecommunications operators

Published on 2024-10-14 09:16:20 by Neil Brown

ND 1437: the 2014 UK call tracing standard that I hadn't heard about

Published on 2024-10-08 09:56:01 by Neil Brown

Some stats on decoded.legal's environmental impact

Published on 2024-09-25 09:02:37 by Neil Brown

Running a law firm on Free software (2024 edition)

Published on 2024-09-20 09:19:30 by Neil Brown

The UK's data protection regulator has taken its (tentative) first step to enforce against non-compliant cookie practices. Sort of.

Published on 2024-09-18 08:41:46 by Neil Brown

UK government proposes to increase data protection fees

Published on 2024-09-05 13:10:28 by Neil Brown

A first look at the ICO's new (beta) tool for creating UK GDPR privacy notices

Published on 2024-08-30 08:47:33 by Neil Brown

Web analytics tools using JavaScript: 'cookie consent' and the UK

Published on 2024-08-13 13:25:42 by Neil Brown

Ofcom amends GC C1 to prohibit inflation-linked price rises for new contracts from 17 January 2025

Published on 2024-07-23 10:52:19 by Neil Brown

The UK/USA data access agreement, subpoenas from the FBI, and a brief update for UK telecoms operators

Published on 2024-06-19 09:22:15 by Neil Brown

The UK's draft Code of Practice for Software Vendors

Published on 2024-06-12 08:56:03 by Neil Brown

The Upper Tribunal's decision in ICO v Experian but mostly griping about a PDF file

Published on 2024-04-24 09:04:13 by Neil Brown

New rules for people making, importing, or distributing Internet-connected or connectable products (Part 3)

Published on 2024-03-14 08:37:54 by Neil Brown

New rules for people making, importing, or distributing Internet-connected or connectable products (Part 2)

Published on 2024-03-12 09:14:28 by Neil Brown

Is DocuSign using your documents to train its AI?

Published on 2024-02-29 08:43:32 by Neil Brown

Ofcom's draft guidance on the Online Safety Act's porn provisions

Published on 2024-02-26 11:52:28 by Neil Brown

An introduction to 'ethical licensing'

Published on 2024-02-10 10:51:43 by Neil Brown

Being an Internet lawyer

Published on 2024-02-06 20:15:55 by Neil Brown

Dealing with 'AI'-generated subject access requests

Published on 2024-01-11 09:28:09 by Neil Brown

Cookies: the letter that the ICO sent to 'top websites'

Published on 2024-01-02 08:34:07 by Neil Brown

Happy Christmas!

Published on 2023-12-15 09:04:16 by Neil Brown

DPDI Bill: a new amendment supporting the UK/USA Data Access Agreement

Published on 2023-12-04 13:51:54 by Neil Brown

Online Safety Act 2023: the UK's (anti-)pornographic content provisions

Published on 2023-11-27 12:45:37 by Neil Brown

Cookies: a brief reminder, now that the ICO is finally taking some action

Published on 2023-11-21 19:07:12 by Neil Brown

Would you like a decoded.legal Christmas card?

Published on 2023-11-21 10:38:03 by Neil Brown

More pressure on UK ISPs and telcos: a proposal to compel PECS providers to notify the ICO of suspected unlawful direct marketing

Published on 2023-11-17 12:29:33 by Neil Brown

Online Privacy: slides from a recent lecture

Published on 2023-11-16 13:56:13 by Neil Brown

Ofcom's >1,500 page consultation on the Online Safety Act 2023, and why small companies don't have a chance

Published on 2023-11-10 09:00:35 by Neil Brown

My initial analysis of The Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Bill

Published on 2023-11-09 10:06:59 by Neil Brown

The Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Bill has arrived

Published on 2023-11-09 08:15:35 by Neil Brown

Coming soon: The Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Bill

Published on 2023-11-07 14:03:17 by Neil Brown

Ofcom's new guidance on open Internet / net neutrality, including zero rating and traffic management

Published on 2023-10-31 09:42:05 by Neil Brown

Free software developers and fiduciary obligations: is an English Bitcoin a cause for concern?

Published on 2023-10-25 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

The UK's updated voluntary code of practice for App Stores, whatever those are...

Published on 2023-10-16 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

New rules for people making, importing, or distributing Internet-connected or connectable products (Part 1)

Published on 2023-10-13 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

ICO guidance on workplace monitoring

Published on 2023-10-04 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Going darker...

Published on 2023-09-23 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

UK GDPR recognises the USA as adequate for some (many?) transfers of personal data

Published on 2023-09-21 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

But lawyers know nothing about tech...

Published on 2023-06-28 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Consultation on changes to the Investigatory Powers Act 2016's notices regime

Published on 2023-06-05 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Ofcoms changes to its guidance on incident reporting thresholds for the digital infrastructure subsector under The Network and Information Systems Regulations

Published on 2023-06-02 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Tech law predictions for 2073

Published on 2023-05-10 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Ofcom investigates broadband providers for failing to implement simpler switching

Published on 2023-04-13 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Changes to the Legal Ombudsman's complaints procedure

Published on 2023-02-24 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Quick, easy and reliable switching: changes coming to Ofcom's General Conditions on 3 April 2023

Published on 2023-02-16 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

There is no copyright in a file format ... unless there is

Published on 2023-02-14 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

The ICO and breach reporting under Reg 5A PECR: take two

Published on 2023-02-02 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

The ICO, breach reporting under Reg 5A PECR, and muddy (muddier?) waters

Published on 2023-01-20 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Can ISPs, telcos, and tech companies lobby?

Published on 2023-01-17 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Want a Christmas card?

Published on 2022-11-24 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Notes on operating fediverse services (Mastodon, Pleroma etc) from an English law point of view

Published on 2022-11-07 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Running a law firm on Linux - a year or so in

Published on 2022-10-25 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Proposed new law to ban (some?) computer code in UK company names

Published on 2022-09-22 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Jury service (19 - 30 September) and what to expect while Im away

Published on 2022-09-05 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Law and the metaverse: new(ish) tech, existing principles?

Published on 2022-08-27 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

What UK telecoms operators need to know about the UK/USA Data Access Agreement and the US CLOUD Act

Published on 2022-07-21 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

The (limited) impact of the High Court's investigatory powers Liberty ruling on telecommunications operators

Published on 2022-06-27 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Emergency video relay and the 999 BSL service: an update for Internet access providers and telcos

Published on 2022-06-17 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Router freedom: the (qualified) right for users to choose their own terminal equipment

Published on 2022-06-03 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Ofcom General Condition changes coming into effect 17 June 2022

Published on 2022-05-23 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

ISPs, telcos, and responding to the ICO's third party information notices

Published on 2022-05-20 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Presentation: IP addresses and electronic evidence

Published on 2022-05-17 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Internet Service Sanctions: changes to the UK Sanctions List, and an open letter from Ofcom

Published on 2022-05-05 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

A new sanction affecting Internet access providers in the UK

Published on 2022-04-29 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Selling to consumers online? Check your final order button text is compliant, or risk a voidable contract

Published on 2022-04-07 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

The UK's International Data Transfer Agreement: what it is and what it means for you

Published on 2022-03-25 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Neil's YouGotThis.io conference talk on Legal Tips To Build Your Business Safely

Published on 2022-03-24 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Publishing your source code for others to use? Specify a licence, please!

Published on 2022-03-01 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Third party requests to exercise data subject rights: quick notes for controllers

Published on 2022-02-24 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

The UK's International Data Transfer Agreement: is this the ICO's worst document yet?

Published on 2022-02-21 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Events, exclusion lists, and the UK GDPR

Published on 2022-02-17 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Google Fonts, an IP address, and the GDPR: must I now self-host all my web page resources?

Published on 2022-02-01 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Five points to note in the EDPB's draft guidelines on the right of access under the GDPR

Published on 2022-01-31 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Ofcoms General Conditions of Entitlement: an update, with important changes

Published on 2022-01-22 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Telecommunications Security Act 2021: a quick update

Published on 2022-01-21 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Don't let cold calling get you into hot water

Published on 2022-01-05 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Internet, telecoms, and tech law predictions for 2022

Published on 2022-01-04 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Wishing you a merry Christmas and a happy new year

Published on 2021-12-17 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

The limits of Norwich Pharmacal orders: when a cellular operator is a witness, not a facilitator of wrongdoing

Published on 2021-12-15 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Running a law firm on Linux

Published on 2021-11-12 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

decoded.legal and the seven OSI layers for Internet, telecoms, and tech legal advice

Published on 2021-11-02 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Give them (GNU GP)ell: a new approach to claims for non-compliance with Free software licences?

Published on 2021-10-22 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Ring doorbells, audio and video monitoring equipment, data protection, and suspiciously long raincoats

Published on 2021-10-14 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

How to handle data subject access requests under the UK GDPR

Published on 2021-09-22 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Dealing with demands for communications data under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016

Published on 2021-09-08 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

How the draft Online Safety Bill would affect the development of Free / open source software

Published on 2021-08-07 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Personal data breach reporting for service outages (such as when your CDN is down)

Published on 2021-07-22 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Online ID / age verification: the death of online search, and non-browser web access?

Published on 2021-07-14 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

No, the European Commission is not compelling online service providers to monitor communications. Well, not yet.

Published on 2021-07-09 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

All reasonable endeavours v best endeavours: a 2021 case update

Published on 2021-07-06 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Github Copilot: initial thoughts from an English law perspective

Published on 2021-06-30 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

The UK is adequate (for data protection purposes)

Published on 2021-06-28 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

The new standard contract clauses: what you need to know right now

Published on 2021-06-09 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Must all UK Internet access providers keep records of which websites I visit?

Published on 2021-06-01 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

The EU's terrorist content regulation and what it means for UK hosting providers

Published on 2021-04-29 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Understanding the Data Protection Acts national security and defence exemption

Published on 2021-04-16 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Five things to take from the European Parliaments response to the Commission on the GDPR

Published on 2021-04-01 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Drafting clearer contracts, and why you should care

Published on 2021-03-08 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Unpicking the making children as safe as they are offline fallacy

Published on 2021-03-07 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Online harms and the role of intermediaries as enforcers

Published on 2021-02-24 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Online harms: an extra-territorial over-reach?

Published on 2021-02-16 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

The law firm and the Streisand Effect

Published on 2021-02-10 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

EncroChat, targeted equipment interference, and the Court of Appeal

Published on 2021-02-08 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Telecoms Security Bill: draft specific obligations for ISPs and telcos

Published on 2021-02-02 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

The territorial scope of the GDPR, as applied by the High Court

Published on 2021-01-20 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Alternatives to using genuine phone numbers, IP addresses, domain names and email addresses in your training and documentation

Published on 2021-01-13 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Four legal tips to keep your business running smoothly in 2021

Published on 2021-01-11 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

decoded.legal is five years old today!

Published on 2021-01-04 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

ICO: data sharing code of practice

Published on 2020-12-29 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

The UK/EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement and data protection: what you should do now

Published on 2020-12-27 17:37:40 by Neil Brown

Merry Christmas and a happy new year

Published on 2020-12-18 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

What could the Telecommunications (Security) Bill mean for ISPs and telcos?

Published on 2020-12-02 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Unpicking the licensing situation for implementing 'This is Lenny' on your phone system

Published on 2020-11-26 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Aint no party like a virtual Christmas party

Published on 2020-11-15 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Does displaying Article 61 of Magna Carta exempt me from compliance with Covid rules in England?

Published on 2020-11-02 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Doing email marketing business to business in a compliant manner

Published on 2020-10-29 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

My website has been hacked: a legal checklist

Published on 2020-10-29 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Privacy policy or privacy notice?

Published on 2020-10-29 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Goodwill hunting

Published on 2020-10-16 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Broadband installation charges: do I have to refund a consumer for these?

Published on 2020-10-11 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Audio porn and plain English consensual contracts

Published on 2020-09-25 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

The end of zero rating?

Published on 2020-09-15 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

(Cyber)Flash A-Ah!

Published on 2020-09-11 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Combatting child sexual abuse imagery: a proposed exemption to the EU's ePrivacy rules

Published on 2020-09-10 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Targeted social media ads: new guidance on doing it lawfully

Published on 2020-09-09 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Does size matter? And how does a communications provider know how big you are?

Published on 2020-09-07 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

SafetyTech: what it is, and key legal issues

Published on 2020-09-02 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Sales to consumers through online platforms: new rules to protect businesses

Published on 2020-08-29 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Your record of processing activity: what it is, and why having one will make your life so much easier

Published on 2020-08-27 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Network operators: reporting obligations for reductions in availability

Published on 2020-08-18 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Four things you need to know about the Age Appropriate Design Code

Published on 2020-08-13 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Cyber-attacks and sanctions

Published on 2020-08-04 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Demystifying The Dark Net (free video)

Published on 2020-07-30 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Urgent: changes to communications data acquisition in the UK

Published on 2020-07-21 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

What is a data protection impact assessment, and when might I need to do one?

Published on 2020-07-20 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

The EDPB's opinion on the UK/US data access agreement under the CLOUD Act

Published on 2020-06-17 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

BEREC's updated net neutrality guidance

Published on 2020-06-16 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Bodged redactions, copy-and-paste, and criminal offences

Published on 2020-06-15 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Draft French law on porn site age verification and site blocking

Published on 2020-06-12 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

How to spy on my wife’s phone: an English law perspective on an article about stalkerware

Published on 2020-06-11 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Cybersecurity and the Internet of Things

Published on 2020-06-04 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

gov.uk guidance on contracts: don't be a dick

Published on 2020-05-14 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

Online interface orders: a new injunction against service providers

Published on 2020-05-07 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

ISPs, outages, and (automatic?) compensation

Published on 2020-04-29 10:00:00 by Neil Brown

I can't meet my obligations because of coronavirus

Published on 2020-03-12 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Privacy notices in three simple steps

Published on 2020-02-22 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Onion services, the dark net, and the law

Published on 2020-02-16 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Selling online to consumers: the right to cancel

Published on 2020-02-09 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Late payment: small businesses, solos, and freelancers

Published on 2020-02-03 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Is cryptocurrency property?

Published on 2020-01-29 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Do I need to worry about the new Californian privacy law?

Published on 2020-01-27 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Brexit: a data protection checklist for UK controllers

Published on 2020-01-20 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

GDPR: it's not too late

Published on 2020-01-12 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Book recommendations for 2020, and my favourites from 2019

Published on 2020-01-06 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Time to change your personal data diet?

Published on 2020-01-02 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

Have you paid your data protection fee?

Published on 2019-12-17 09:00:00 by Neil Brown

ICO consultation on the draft right of access guidance

Published on 2019-12-17 09:00:00 by Neil Brown