Tim Cochrane
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timcochranenz.bsky.social
Tim Cochrane
@timcochranenz.bsky.social
35 followers 36 following 8 posts
I'm finishing up my PhD focussing on law enforcement cross-border data sharing and privacy. I'm interested in all things law (and more).
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Reposted by Tim Cochrane
orinkerr.bsky.social
2d Circuit holds that no warrant and no suspicion is needed to search a citizen's cell phone at the border. According to the court, per Judge Menashi, the border search exception authorizes searches to find criminals crossing the border, and Riley does not apply. ww3.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/OP...
September 17, 2026 at 5:49 PM
Reposted by Tim Cochrane
michae.lv
Parts of the GDPR are cited and interpreted by thousands of pieces of case law and guidance, but there's no easy and free way to find out what. We've made a tool which makes it super easy, for 13,000 citing documents, all in one place. More regulations to come!

homepages.ucl.ac.uk/~ucqnmve/law...
Image of the interface, featuring Article 5 with citation counts per article and per paragraph. Image of the interface, featuring Article 17(3) with citation counts per article and per paragraph, and sources.
July 30, 2026 at 3:56 PM
Reposted by Tim Cochrane
rosamundevb.bsky.social
The court established that at the time the French surveillance was authorised, there existed no suspicion whatsoever against the accused — let alone the urgent, sufficiently individualised suspicion required under Swiss law for covert surveillance measures. www.joint-defense-team.com/post/basel-c...
Landmark Swiss Decision: SkyECC Evidence Ruled Inadmissible
The Basel Court of Appeal sets a new standard in international criminal defence, rejecting SkyECC evidence over sovereignty breaches, unfair surveillance, and lack of verifiable data.
www.joint-defense-team.com
May 5, 2026 at 7:34 AM
Reposted by Tim Cochrane
michae.lv
2 year research postdoc at UCL @laws.ucl.ac.uk on data and democracy, public law focus — could focus on surveillance and/or AI issues www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
UCL – University College London
UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).
www.ucl.ac.uk
May 5, 2026 at 10:47 AM
timcochranenz.bsky.social
Interesting new Court of Appeal judgment overturning finding that a sanctioned "excluded person" was validly served under CPR r 6.9, reiterating that the CPR should be interpreted consistently with PIL jurisdiction rules and international comity: caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewca/civ/202...
Extract of linked judgment showing paragraphs 72 to 75.
February 20, 2026 at 9:08 AM
timcochranenz.bsky.social
Nice comments on the "inherently broad reach" of the concept of personal data under data protection law in this Court of Appeal judgment delivered by Warby LJ today: www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/u...
Extract from DSG Retail Ltd v Information Commissioner [2026] EWCA Civ 140, showing paragraph 68, which states: "Thirdly, if the domestic and EU case law has any single unifying theme it is that the ordinary and natural meaning of the legislative language gives the concept of “personal data” an inherently broad reach that may have to be shaped and moulded to suit particular contexts, with sometimes heavy reliance on the tools of contextual and purposive interpretation."
February 19, 2026 at 2:11 PM
Reposted by Tim Cochrane
privacymatters.bsky.social
Spain: Prosecutors have been told they cannot rely on intercept evidence from the Sky ECC encrypted phone network in the absence of other evidence, unless they disclose the raw intercept data to defendants

By @billgoodwin.bsky.social
Spanish court acquits suspects denied access to ‘raw’ Sky ECC intercepts in landmark decision | Computer Weekly
A Spanish court has raised questions about the validity and reliability of intercepted phone data, acquitting multiple defendants of drug trafficking charges in a case that relied solely on intercepte...
www.computerweekly.com
January 26, 2026 at 6:50 PM
timcochranenz.bsky.social
Interesting to see this English High Court judgment by Saini J today hold that wrongful "alteration or erasure of [a claimant's] data" from their personal device amounts to trespass to goods: caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/kb/2026...
Extract from Al-Masarir v KSA [2026] EWHC 119 (KB) showing paragraphs 77 to 78, setting out the point noted in the post.
January 26, 2026 at 3:56 PM
timcochranenz.bsky.social
Interesting comments in this judgment today on the relationship (and difference) between breach of confidentiality and misuse of privacy information claims under English law 👇
Extract of Hurst v SRA [2026] EWHC 85 (Admin) showing [98] and [99], with the following language highlighted: "Tchenguiz is not authority for a proposition that no breach of confidence may be found unless there is a breach of privacy, nor that a duty of confidence cannot arise unless a claimant has a reasonable expectation of privacy in the information in question. It does not go so far. It does support an understanding that privacy and confidentiality may overlap, and that ‘consistency and coherence’ in the development and application of both is important."
January 20, 2026 at 8:01 PM
Reposted by Tim Cochrane
melissastewart.bsky.social
We’re withdrawing from the International Law Commission??? This whole list is absolutely insane.

www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
Withdrawing the United States from International Organizations, Conventions, and Treaties that Are Contrary to the Interests of the United States
MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United
www.whitehouse.gov
January 8, 2026 at 1:59 AM
Reposted by Tim Cochrane
orinkerr.bsky.social
Pennsylvania Supreme Court rules that there are no 4th Amendment rights in your Google search terms. When you search on Google, you tell them your search terms; the government can get those queries without a warrant. The third-party doctrine applies.
www.pacourts.us/assets/opini...
December 16, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Reposted by Tim Cochrane
drdeanknight.bsky.social
Come join us at @vicuniwgtn.bsky.social — applications are open for lecturer/senior lecturer roles at our law school. 🤓

ejye.fa.ap1.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
November 28, 2025 at 1:22 AM
Reposted by Tim Cochrane
strictlyobiter.bsky.social
Pegasus Scholar.
November 12, 2025 at 3:56 AM
Reposted by Tim Cochrane
nilegalq.bsky.social
We are delighted to share Conor Gearty @lselaw.bsky.social’s reflections on writing: 8 tips for surviving (and enjoying!) academic writing.

Many thanks to Conor for sharing his insights!

Article: doi.org/10.53386/nil...

Series: doi.org/10.53386/nil...
July 23, 2025 at 9:41 AM
Reposted by Tim Cochrane
jessicashurson.bsky.social
Really happy to share my new article "Investigative Jurisdiction: The Evolving Limits of Extraterritoriality in Transnational Digital Investigations" now published online with the International & Comparative Law Quarterly. It's open access and free to read here: doi.org/10.1017/S002...
Investigative Jurisdiction: The Evolving Limits of Extraterritoriality in Transnational Digital Investigations | International & Comparative Law Quarterly | Cambridge Core
Investigative Jurisdiction: The Evolving Limits of Extraterritoriality in Transnational Digital Investigations
doi.org
September 15, 2025 at 10:27 AM
Reposted by Tim Cochrane
lawfaremedia.org
On July 9, the European Court of Human Rights found that Russia was responsible for human rights violations in its invasion and war in Ukraine. Deborah Housen-Couriel and @asaflubin.bsky.social explain the impact of the court's treatment of digital rights protections in the age of digital conflict.
Digital Rights in Armed Conflict and the Ukraine v. Russia Decision
A watershed decision from the European Court of Human Rights reaffirms privacy rights in war, limiting data collection by militaries in the age of digital conflict.
www.lawfaremedia.org
August 18, 2025 at 5:15 PM
timcochranenz.bsky.social
Interesting to see the "seriously arguable" UK #dataprotection law breaches arising from UK military Afghan data leak set out in this judgment published today:

www.judiciary.uk/judgments/cx...

(This is my first 🦋 post, so 👋 all!)
Extract of judgment available at link, showing paragraph 43. This states: "As to (3), although the data leak was accidental, on the materials before us it is strongly arguable that it also involved a breach of the law. That is because the data comprised personal data within the meaning of sections 3(2), (3) and 14(c) of the Data Protection Act 2018, and article 4(1) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation. The first defendant is the data controller (within the meaning of the Act and Regulation) because he holds the authority to determine the purposes and means of processing the personal data. [Individual 1] was a data processor (within the meaning of the Act and Regulation) because [they were] provided with the dataset and [they] used it and disseminated it. There was an obligation on the first defendant, [Individual 1], and all MoD officials to ensure that appropriate protection was in place (including by means of appropriate technical or organisational measures) against unauthorised or unlawful processing of the dataset, and against accidental loss: article 5(1)(f) of the Regulation (and see also articles 24(1), 25 and 32). It required no hindsight to appreciate that unauthorised disclosure of the dataset might give rise to a risk to life. It should never have been provided to, or disclosed by, [Individual 1], in unencrypted form. The provision of the dataset to, and its disclosure by, [Individual 1], involved a clear breach of article 5(1)(f) (and also article 24(1), 25 and 32) of the Regulation."
August 8, 2025 at 12:51 PM