About this Substack….
Article 79 is a Substack about reclaiming control of your data & enforcement of individual's rights over their personal data in Scotland.
This is partly a story about how I enforced my data rights in a Sheriff Court against a rogue local government data controller…
…. and partly a DIY manual for individuals & activists wishing to exercise and enforce their data rights under the Data Protection Act 2018 & the GDPR.
I will be covering:
The story of how I successfully enforced GDPR rights against local government over a 20 month long court action as a party litigant, including:
compelling access to withheld data.
uncovering evidence of covert surveillance by Council spooks plus unlawful processing & retention of my data.
rectification of inaccurate official records.
restriction of further processing of my data.
The ongoing story of further action I am taking against this rogue local government - The Highland Council.
How to make effective subject access requests & other GDPR rights requests and follow them up including making complaints to the ICO.
How effectively exercising GDPR rights can level the playing field against large public authorities.
Nuances of data protection litigation that redress the inherent imbalance of power when you are up against large corporations & public authorities.
How your rights under the GDPR can be used creatively to obtain effective remedies in many areas previously thought to be overly onerous or expensive to achieve.
How individuals can leverage data rights to neutralise malicious actors.
How to utilise simple procedure in Sheriff Court for Article 79 GDPR claims and obtaining s.167 compliance orders without legal representation.
Archiving a library of useful case law from UK domestic courts and the CJEU.
Challenges party litigants face in courts in Scotland.
Strays into planning law, human rights, alternative lifestyle, sisu 🇫🇮 & personal autonomy.
Might stray into podcasts if there is appetite for it.
Free Subscriber Access
Free subscriber access will be limited however, they will have access to a selection of posts and resources.
I am also curating an FOI Archive in a special section of this Substack which is accessible to all free & paid subscribers. The FOI campaign is part of my ongoing audit of practices inside the Highland Council & other relevant related public authorities. If any resources have been helpful to you.. you can buy me coffee if you wish.
Why become a paid subscriber?
Whilst many posts will be accessible to free subscribers, much of the Substack will be curated for paid subscribers only.
This Substack compiles several thousand hours of my research in many areas of data protection law and GDPR rights enforcement and exposes bad practices, abuse of authority and weaponisation of citizen's data by local government.
I originally had no intentions to publish any of this information. However, given what has unfolded in my case, exposure and accountability for the level of institutional rot uncovered along the way inside this local government has become duty. 👊
Your subscription supports further ongoing litigation and projects.
My claim against the Highland Council has already burned up about 2 years of my life and messed up 2 gardening seasons which is a mortal sin in my world and I have only completed the first leg of the action I am taking against them. I have stacks of evidence of the Highland Council's misdeeds and the exposure of it will be roughly proportional to the amount of support I receive. This is because of the time & effort already expended on my investigation into not only my personal issues with this Council but, their wider practices & also the time & effort I will need to spend curating this Substack.
Unique Set of Resources
I believe I can also safely say that the tools, information and resources I will be providing on this Substack about how to enforce data rights in Scotland is unique - especially given that I have already tested the methods in my successful action against the Council.
Therefore, you can think of your subscription as a type of crowdfunder. Not only will you help fund my further actions related to my initial claim, I provide information you won't find anywhere else on the internet about data rights enforcement in Scotland.
Founding Members
Folk that sign up as a “founding member”, will have special access to Q&A where I can answer any questions you have or go into detail on some of the finer points of how to successfully utilise and enforce your data rights. Founding members will also have access to special materials.
Subscribe to get full access to the newsletter and publication archives.
No Nonsense Policy
Highland Council apologists (if there are any left) will be barred from comments. I've already proven the core my case in a court of law with more coming & unless you have evidence to refute, I don't have time for your shit.
Disclaimer : “not a lawyer, but, knows enough to be dangerous”. Nothing on these pages are legal advice. DYOR.
