Google could be forced to pay up to £750 in compensation to iPhone users in the UK if it loses a privacy battle that’s been escalated to the Supreme Court.
The legal battle – which has been described as one of the most significant legal cases in recent history, and a judgment of which is due to be handed down by the Supreme Court today – centres around allegations that the technology firm secretly tracked the online activity of millions of iPhone users in England and Wales, according to Sky News.
It comes after a man named Richard Lloyd – a former director of consumer group Which?- decided to sue Google for collecting web browsing data from iPhone users between 2011 and 2012, despite Google claiming at the time that it was prevented from doing so by the Safari browser’s default privacy settings.
Mr Lloyd alleges that Google ‘cookies’ collected information on 4.4 million iPhone users – who used the Safari web browser between 2011 and 2012 – and claims the company collected data on their health, race, ethnicity, sexuality and political affiliations.
This was even though the users had chosen a ‘do not track’ privacy setting.
Judgment will be handed down on Wednesday 10 November at 9.45am in person and via video link in the case of Lloyd (Respondent) v Google LLC (Appellant) – UKSC 2019/0213https://t.co/h3j0LPe4xBpic.twitter.com/9zFx3PSFME
His allegations then go on to claim that this data was then used to group people into categories for advertising purposes, yet Google insists that no information was shared to third parties.
Mr Lloyd – who is backed by campaign group Google You Owe Us – hopes to win between £1 billion and £3 billion in compensation for alleged breaches of the Data Protection Act, and if he wins, the US technology giant could be forced compensate millions of affected iPhone users across the UK.
Affected iPhone users could potentially claim a tariff of up to £750 in compensation, although it’s believed that a much lower figure is likely.
The case at hand was initially dismissed by the High Court after it ruled it was difficult to calculate how many people had been affected, or whether they had suffered losses, but that decision was eventually overturned by the Court of Appeal in 2019 following an appeal by Google appealed, and the case was subsequently escalated to the Supreme Court.
Mr Lloyd alleges that Google ‘cookies’ collected information on 4.4 million iPhone users between 2011 and 2012 in England and Wales / Credit: Pxfuel
Mr Lloyd said he brought the claim not just as an individual affected by Google’s actions, but as someone who’s representing over four million people.
Jamie Curle – a partner at law firm DLA Piper – described the judgment as “one of the most eagerly awaited decisions of recent years”, and said it would have “a significant impact on the volume and nature of litigation in the data privacy arena”.
“All eyes will be on this Supreme Court judgment to help answer many of the open questions of law surrounding representative actions for data protection related claims,” added Ross McKean – a data protection partner at DLA Piper.
Featured Image – NurPhoto / Flickr
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Hundreds of new homes in Mayfield Park given green light
Daisy Jackson
The chance to live in Manchester city centre’s newest park (and one of its only green spaces) has taken a step closer, with plans for new Mayfield Park homes given the green light.
879 apartments have been approved this week, which will have ‘the ultimate front garden’.
The Mayfield district has been undergoing major changes in the last few years, including the redevelopment of Depot Mayfield (into Freight Island, plus a music venue for events like Warehouse Project) and the opening of the beautiful Mayfield Park.
And now hundreds of new one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes will be added to the area, as well as a 40% increase in the size of the park.
The plans for the first homes at Mayfield Park were met with unanimous approval by the City Council’s Planning Committee.
The residences will span across four buildings, with low-rise elements peppered in amongst the taller blocks, and will also be home to restaurants, cafes, and health and wellness facilities.
A new tree-lined road through the development will enhance walking and cycling connectivity from east Manchester into the city centre.
More than 880 jobs will be generated during the construction phase, plus 120 full-time jobs when operational.
Hundreds of new homes in Mayfield Park given green light. Credit: Assembly Studios
The proposals suggest that the apartments will contribute £2 million annually in Council Tax and a major £10 million boost to local businesses through increased spending.
The high-quality homes are designed by Studio Egret West and shedkm, designed to reflect the industrial heritage of the area, including distinctive arches.
20% of the first phase of homes are intended to be classed as affordable housing and will be prioritised for key workers in Manchester.
Henrietta Nowne, Development Director at Landsec, representing The Mayfield Partnership, said: “For the first time, Mancunians will have the ultimate back garden within the award-winning Mayfield Park.
“An opportunity like this hasn’t existed before in Manchester. Since starting on site earlier this month, there’s real momentum building as we continue to grow a green, healthy and connected district in the heart of Manchester.”
The approval marks the next chapter of the continued transformation of the Mayfield district near Piccadilly Station, led by Manchester City Council, TfGM, London Continental Railways (LCR), and Landsec.
Revenue from Manchester’s ‘big gigs’ to go towards supporting local grassroots music venues
Emily Sergeant
Manchester City Council is set to earmark almost £250,000 to support grassroots music venues in the city.
Following on from the success of the city’s huge summer of music, which in recent weeks has seen hundreds of thousands of fans converge in the city to see massive names like Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Charlie XCX, Elbow, and Robbie Williams, as well as other talents like Fontaines D.C. and Sam Fender still yet to come.
Oh yeah, and there was also that small matter of Oasis reuniting for five nostalgia-drenched gigs in Manchester’s Heaton Park earlier last month.
Over the course of the summer, it has been estimated that Manchester will have attracted a whopping 1.3 million music tourists, which is being described as a ‘tremendous’ boost for the city’s economy as a whole, especially the hospitality industry.
Revenue made from Manchester’s ‘big gigs’ this summer is to go towards supporting local grassroots music venues / Credit: Eldhose Kuriyan | Joshua Hanson (via Unsplash)
These huge events are also generating income for the Council too, either by being hosted in the city’s largest parks with commercial arrangements for their use, or through the business rates paid by major venues – and it’s this income that has been earmarked to go towards supporting grassroots music venues throughout the city.
As well as reinvesting part of this revenue into parks and greenspaces, the Council is planning to set aside £245,000 to be made available in financial support for Manchester’s grassroots venues.
While exact details are in the process of being finalised, the intention is that the scheme will be administered by the Music Venue Trust to ensure that the money gets to where it is needed as ‘quickly and effectively’ as possible.
It’s estimated that Manchester will have welcomed 1.3 million music tourists before summer’s out / Credit: Nathan Mullet (via Unsplash)
“Manchester is a big noise in the music world,” commented Councillor Bev Craig, who is the Leader of Manchester City Council, “and this summer, all eyes have been on the city as we’ve hosted some huge concerts and seen unprecedented success in our large venues.
“But while the biggest gigs might dominate the headlines, we know they are only possible because they are part of a wider ecosystem, with grassroots venues providing the launchpads for acts to develop and grow.
It's been a BIG summer of music in Manchester.
We've got pioneering plans to use money raised by some of the biggest gigs to support our grassroots venues – a vital ingredient of the city's amazing music scene: https://t.co/8ekQN7AmGBpic.twitter.com/MpVWpeHqbk
— Manchester City Council (@ManCityCouncil) July 31, 2025
“We know that across the country, grassroots venues are struggling. That’s why we want to ensure that our grassroots venues can share some of the benefit from the success of those big events.
“We’re blessed in Manchester with an array of great smaller venues.
The Manc -
10th November 2021 
