Social media regulation and online harms in England and Wales

Produced in partnership with Oliver Schneider-Sikorsky of BCL Solicitors LLP and Persephone Bridgman Baker of Carter-Ruck

Practice notes

Social media regulation and online harms in England and Wales

Produced in partnership with Oliver Schneider-Sikorsky of BCL Solicitors LLP and Persephone Bridgman Baker of Carter-Ruck

Practice notes

FORTHCOMING CHANGE: On 24 May 2024, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill received Royal Assent, becoming the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers ACT 2024 (DMCCA 2024) and coming partly into force on that date. DMCCA 2024, s 251 (which is not yet in force) will revoke the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPUTR 2008), SI 2008/1277, which affects this Practice Note. Once revoked, the provisions presently contained in the CPUTR 2008 will be replaced by Part 4 of DMCCA 2024 (which largely replicates the requirements of the CPUTR 2008). This Practice Note will be updated for this change in due course.

For a detailed comparison of the CPUTR 2008 and Part 4 of DMCCA 2024, see Practice Note: The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024—key provisions from a consumer protection perspective.

The first part of this Practice Note sets out different types of criminal offences which may be committed in relation to content posted on Social media platforms. This includes trolling,

Oliver Schneider-Sikorsky

Employed Barrister, BCL Solicitors LLP

Year Qualified:

Sep 2012 – Admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales
Feb 2013 – Higher Rights of Audience
Jul 2014 – Called to the Bar

Oliver is qualified as both a solicitor and barrister. His practice encompasses business crime, regulatory investigations, and general criminal litigation. He routinely represents HNW individuals, business moguls, entertainers, and sportspersons accused of crimes and misconduct.

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Oliver has over a decade of experience as a commercial litigator, prosecutor, and criminal defence lawyer. He specialises in advising high profile individuals and liaising with family office advisors on sensitive issues that require an appreciation of both commercial and criminal issues. His expertise extends to reputational advice and crisis management.

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Oliver has been the lead senior associate on some of BCL Solicitors LLP’s largest matters. These include multi-jurisdictional criminal, civil, and regulatory investigations. He regularly project manages large teams of counsel, foreign lawyers, and experts with multi disciplines and he is highly effective in coordinating complex strategies.

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Following a BA in Classics at Merton College, Oxford, Oliver began his legal career in 2010 at a leading American law firm in London and qualified as a solicitor into their white-collar litigation and international arbitration team in 2012. He joined BCL from a leading criminal defence team, prior to which he spent time as a Crown Prosecutor, and later a barrister at 2 Hare Court representing clients in regulatory tribunals and the criminal courts.

Persephone Bridgman Baker

Senior Associate, Carter-Ruck

Persephone is a media and reputation management specialist.��Her work encompasses defamation and privacy in pre-publication and post-publication disputes against major newspapers and other publishers.��Her practice also deals with blackmail, harassment, data protection and intellectual property. ��

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Persephone has a particular interest in social media issues including online harms and privacy surrounding the key platforms.��She appeared in The Times providing her legal insight into online abuse.

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Persephone is a Senior Associate at Carter-Ruck, who have acted in many of the recent leading cases in these fields including the landmark cases of PJS v. News Group Newspapers [2016], (1) NT1 and (2) NT2 v. Google LLC [2018] and Richard Burgon MP v. News Group Newspapers [2019]. Persephone’s experience also includes numerous unreported confidential cases as well as breach of confidence and trade secrets disputes including cases involving corporate fraud.

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Persephone has been highlighted as an ‘Associate to Watch’ by Chambers and Partners where Carter-Ruck is ranked Band 1: “"Persephone is superb - she knows her mind and gets on very well with clients. She's just excellent in this field." "Highly professional and very client-focused."��Persephone is also ranked in the Legal 500 and the Spears Reputation Management Index 2021.��She recently appeared as a panellist at the 2021 Spears Wealth Insight Forum providing her insights on reputation management and privacy issues surrounding modern families and the future of HNW divorce.

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Persephone regularly comments on current legal affairs in the press, and appears on television and radio for the BBC.

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Persephone trained and qualified at Allen & Overy LLP and read Law at the University of Cambridge.

Jurisdiction(s):

United Kingdom

Key definition:

Social media definition

What does Social media mean?

Internet-based platforms which allow for interactions between individuals or the broadcast of content to the wider world and which are far more interactive than traditional broadcast media.

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Social media regulation and online harms in England and Wales

Produced in partnership with Oliver Schneider-Sikorsky of BCL Solicitors LLP and Persephone Bridgman Baker of Carter-Ruck