Peter Sommer

I recently became one of the 12% of Britons to have sat on a jury that saw a case through to a verdict. And I endorse every word of this. One of the most powerful moments arrives after the summing up, when the usher swears … "I shall keep this jury in a private and convenient place. I shall suffer no one to speak to them nor shall I speak to them myself except with leave of the court, save to ask them whether they have agreed upon their verdict." Then, 12 random women and men become the still point of a turning world, upon whom justice patiently waits. Juries are civic magic — a secular miracle. They should be cherished beyond measure.

Meanwhile, in ping-pong on the CWS Bill, the UK Government has introduced clauses giving itself broad powers to restrict access by children to specified internet services or features publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill… As @Cyberleagle points out this isn't limited to OSA-regulated services

Software updates come along pretty frequently these days. But the pace at which the engineers are trying to iron out weaknesses in the Online Safety Act 2023 is striking.   Minutes after publishing my Note (3.3.26) on the Crime and Policing Bill proposed amendments to the Online Safety Act 2023, my attention was drawn by Graham Smith (@cyberleagle) to further proposed amendments to the OSA 2023, laid yesterday, this time in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.   This Note therefore briefly considers proposed new section 214A (‘Power to require internet service providers to restrict access by children to certain internet services’).   The purpose of this section appears to be to allow the government to swiftly implement child restrictions by regulation – a very strong indication of the government’s intentions after its “Growing up in the online world: a national consultation” (3.3.26) has concluded.   As I said in my previous Note, there is something to be said for speed and flexibility when legislating about online matters because of the speed of technological change, and the current impact on children of excessive internet exposure. Reducing exposure to terrorism content would (in my view) lower the risk of today’s children going down the extremist rabbit hole.   It is therefore understandable why the government wants to implement changes by regulation/Statutory Instrument than by Act of Parliament (generally, much slower).   However, the proposed section 214A is a double-whammy.   Not only does it allow the government to legislate for the internet by future Statutory Instrument: as I set out in my previous Note this means far less opportunity for Parliamentary oversight. But in addition, proposed section 214A was introduced at the very tail-end of the passage of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. Since it was not part of this Bill from the off, it will not receive the same level of scrutiny as other measures in the BIll.   So the government is legislating at speed to allow itself to legislate at speed.   Care will be needed. As others have pointed out, section 214A would allow the government to require ALL internet services, whether or not within scope of the Online Safety Act 2023. It is not clear whether this is deliberate.   I reiterate all the points from yesterday’s Note: this is important and difficult stuff, and it is unclear how Parliament is going to be able to exercise informed legislative choice if things are done at break-neck speed.   JONATHAN HALL KC 4 MARCH 2026

@terrorwatchdog Have to say I was quite surprised by the consultation. I was expecting a serious discussion of pros and cons, but it seemed to be little more than an opinion poll for self-selecting respondents.

@BestMovieMom Filming took place in a hidden part of Charing Cross. The platform, rails and escalator were part of the abandoned Fleet Line which became the Jubilee Line and was re-routed to Canary Wharf. It's now used for staff training and filming.

Daniel Craig performed the iconic escalator slide in Skyfall (2012) without any safety gear. After testing the stunt with cables and brakes, Craig ditched the equipment to execute the high speed subway descent entirely unaided.

Now a full-length blogpost. “Safety by design or systems for content moderation?” #OnlineSafetyAct cyberleagle.com/2026/02/safety…

Law’s Assessment of Digital Evidence Reliability. I have updated my commentary on this important issue. We still await a reaction from the UK Ministry of Justice of its Call from January 2025. pmsommer.com/how-do-lawyers…

The HoL report is report but underplays the problems of digital forensics, the fastest growing sector. Here'smy commentary: pmsommer.com/house-of-lords…

@silkiecarlo @BBCr4today @BBCNews @zsk It only took 14 years for Doctorow’s Warning to come to pass. cyberleagle.com/2014/01/cyberl…

@LordsSTCom has just published a further report on forensic science. Good though it is I have written a commentary on further issues in digital forensics: pmsommer.com/house-of-lords…

And when you have a hammer, no matter how badly designed and broken it may be, everything looks like a nail.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism is a fake anti racist organisation that uses abuse & smears to target critics of Israel. As @HudaAmmori says, using accusations of antisemitism against a group because it targets the Israeli weapons industry is a very dangerous thing to do.

@SkyNews Please drop the chats between Jones and Melbourne. Both are accomplished news presenters and interviewers but the "informal" chats look forced and add nothing. Just tell us what is happening in the world via reports and correspondents. Thanks.

This was an important and useful interview, but is it "news" and should it be the top item in a news bulletin? Some 15 minutes of interview and comment in some bulletins. We want to know what is currently happening in the world.

Very interesting and useful. My narrative of the UK EncroChat prosecutions appears at shorturl.at/br8iR

Very interesting and useful. My narrative of the UK EncroChat prosecutions appears at shorturl.at/br8iR

Investigatory Powers Act 2016 is becoming obsolete and needs reform. My article for Computer Weekly computerweekly.com/feature/Why-th…

Why the UK needs to rethink the Investigatory Powers Act and allow intercept evidence in court computerweekly.com/feature/Why-th… via @computerweekly

Channel 4 Encro: But there was no mention that the Encro evidence itself was highly problematic. French refused to allow the decryption method to tested, the evidence itself showed deep faults and may not have been admissible. shorturl.at/br8iR

@encrochat @Channel4. Last night's doc centred around Bedfordshire Police followed earlier docs about the Met and GMP. It showed, rather well, the challenges of turning the Encro evidence into prosecutions. Not to detract from the police's glory/1