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.
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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.
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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.
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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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Full list of road closures set to be in place for Manchester Day 2024
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Day is back for 2024 this weekend, and the full list of road closures set to be in place has been confirmed.
Now that schools are officially out across Greater Manchester, and the summer holidays are well and truly here, the hugely-popular Manchester Day is making a return once again this Saturday 27 July, and as always, it’s set to be “the day summer officially starts” in the city centre – with a massive celebration of “all things Mancunian” on the cards.
The theme of this year’s annual event is ‘Let The Games Begin’, and it’s inspired by the international summer of sport, just 2024 Olympics kicks off over in Paris.
The day will be packed full of free events and activities to get involved with.
Some city centre roads will be closed on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 July for Manchester Day.
These will include:
🛣️Deansgate 🛣️St Ann Street 🛣️St Mary’s Gate 🛣️Market Street 🛣️King Street
— Manchester City Council (@ManCityCouncil) July 21, 2024
But of course, in order for the all the fun to go ahead as safely as possible, and as tends to be the case for events like these, Manchester City Council says it will need to make some temporary road closures to facilitate it.
The full list of road closures has now been confirmed by the Council, and there’s some major city centre thoroughfares set to be out of action.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Manchester Day is back for 2024 to celebrate the international summer of sport / Credit: Manchester City Council
Manchester Day 2024 – Road Closures
Saturday 27 July
From 6am to 11:59pm, Manchester City Council has confirmed that the following roads will be closed:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street) – access will be maintained to Marks and Spencer’s car park and Number One Deansgate.
St Ann Street (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street (Cross Street to Deansgate) – no access for deliveries.
All accessible bays, bus lanes, and taxi ranks within the closed areas will also be suspended during from 6pm on Friday 26 July to 11:59pm on Saturday 27 July.
The parking suspensions set to be in place are:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street)
St Ann Street – including the bays outside St Ann’s Church (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Southgate (St Mary’s Street to King Street West)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Victoria Street (Cathedral Approach to Deansgate)
Todd Street (Corporation Street to Station Approach)
King Street (Spring Gardens to Southgate)
South King Street (Ridgefield to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street West (Deansgate to St Mary’s Parsonage)
St James’s Square (John Dalton Street to South King Street)
Cross Street (King Street to Corporation Street)
Museum Street (Peter Street to Windmill Street)
Marsden Street (Cheapside to Brown Street)
Manchester Day 2024: Let The Games Begin! will take over the city centre on Saturday 27 July from 12pm-6pm.
Check out everything you need to know ahead of the event here.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete
Emily Sergeant
Work currently underway on the Rochdale via Oldham line is expected to take several weeks to complete.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has confirmed that land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has now “slowed”, and this means that detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works have been able to get underway.
In order for trams to run again on the crucial line from the city centre to the two major Greater Manchester towns, TfGM says that a small section of track has to be moved back – also known as ‘slewed’ – into its original position.
The overhead line poles also need to be repaired too, the transport operator revealed.
Rochdale line update
Land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has slowed, enabling detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works to get underway.
To get trams running again, a small section of track has to be moved back into its original position… pic.twitter.com/byERjitdi1
Unfortunately though, due to the “complex” nature of these works, and despite the fact that TfGM says it’s actively looking to “accelerate” the repairs, the project is expected to take up to five weeks to complete in full.
On top of this, the detailed ground investigations will also establish whether any further work to strengthen foundations beneath the track will be needed at a later date.
TfGM has apologised for the inconvenience caused to passengers.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete / Credit: TfGM
Speaking on the scale of works currently underway, and how long he expects them to continue for, Pete Sommers, who is TfGM’s Network Director for Metrolink, said: “I’m sorry for the impact this is having, and will continue to have, on people’s journeys.
“We are working to get trams running through the area again, but this remains a complex and challenging issue and it could still be a few weeks before this happens.
“We will of course keep passengers updated, and I’d encourage people to check our social media channels and website for the latest information and advice.”