The UK’s first Internet Lawyer.
Fighting online harassment and abuse since 1997.
Who is Yair Cohen?
Yair Cohen is a UK based expert international internet law and social media lawyer with the London law firm Cohen Davis
For nearly 25 years, Yair has been championing the rights of women who suffer online abuse by taking on some of the most challenging harassment and online trolling cases and bringing notorious online trolls to justice.
KEY REPORTED CASES BY LAWYER YAIR COHEN
Follow @cyberlawexpertThe case of Lindsey Goldrick Dean V Paul Curran
The case of Frankie Rzucek v Alan Vinnicombe
Victim of catfishing was “driven crazy” by catfish
Mel B and Stephen Belafonte Court Case
Behind the scenes of the Sweet Bobby legal case
The Case of David Paisley vs. Graham Linehan
The Hampstead Paedophile Hoax case
The case of TJM v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police
The case of David Paisley and Graham Linehan
The case of Brian Dudley v Michael Phillips
The case of XLD v KZL
The case of Rada-Ortiz v Espinosa-Vadillo
The case of Dominated Men and Mario Rogers
The case of DDF V YYZ
The Case of GYH V Persons Unknown
The case of Nicola Brookes V Persons Unknown
The case of Lindsey Goldrick Dean V Paul Curran
The case of Frankie Rzucek v Alan Vinnicombe
Victim of catfishing was “driven crazy” by catfish
AS SEEN ON





“This programme should send your contact details to Cressida Dick who runs the Met… because you seem to have found a shortcut to finding and prosecuting these individuals.”
Richard Madeley
Good Morning Britain
Why the decision against Google is important
Google has lost its appeal against a $2.8 billion fine, which was imposed on it by the EU after the European Commission concluded that it was operating in an anti competitive environment.
This decision against Google is important but no many people fully appreciate its significance. Read more Google loses appeal of $2.8 billion fine in E.U. anti-trust case
Yair Cohen explains how he brings private prosecution cases against internet trolls
Speaking to BBC Scotland's Kate Adams, solicitor Yair Cohen explains the reasons for the rise in cases of internet trolling in the UK and how him and his law firm are able to assist victims of internet trolling and harassment
Google found to have misled Australian users in location tracking case. The Australian Federal Court has ruled that Google misled users in the country when it comes to how it collects and uses location data.
Google was particularly crafty on this occasion as it gave users two different security settings, both of which had to be switched off in order for the location tracking to be disabled.
However, only one of the settings mentioned the word “location”. It was called “location history” whilst the other, which Google made sure was turned on by default, was called “webs and apps”.
"Who on earth would have guessed that “webs and apps” setting had anything to do with the location tracking", asks lawyer Yair Cohen.
What are the legal consequences of parents posting images and other private information about their young children on the internet
Read more
Breach of privacy of children when parents post images of their children on social media
How far would employers go, spying on employees who work from home
Can employers lawfully spy on their employees who work form home?
Read more Legal issues aroundspying on employees who work from home
What is Florida Senate Bill 7072 and why it was enacted. Read more about Florida Senate Bill 7072
Never before in human history, have those in charge of carrying public information to billions of people across the planet, been left unregulated. The closest example of large scale information carriers are telephone companies and TV news stations, both of which operate under licences, which prohibit discrimination or selection of their users. Certainly not a selection, which is based on race or on political affiliation. Read more
How far can governments go in using mobile technology during COVID
Tracing apps are playing a significant role in some countries in combating COVID-19. There is no doubt that COVID-19 has given a huge boost to some technological advances but more importantly, the virus has created a public readiness to accept them.
The COVID-19 outbreak helped destroy psychological barriers by making most people accept certain restrictions on their privacy and freedoms, which they would have never previously been willing to even consider.
Read more Why European governments are reluctant to use mobile phone tracking apps during COVID19
Apple’s “crime” was that it made it difficult for a third-party company who developed a child safety app, to sell the app through its app store. Instead, Apple promoted its own app, exclusively.
Read more:
The US might give ransomware threat the same priority as terrorism. Yair Cohen explains in this live panel discussion that as US internal security services have requested powers that will allow them to handle ransomware hacking crimes in the same way that they handle terrorist activities, other crimes might now come under the same banner of terrorism.
Read more The US to give the ransomware threat same priority as terrorism
How do people allow themselves to be catfish?
In this interview on GB News, solicitor Yair Cohen, who was involved in the "Sweet Bobby" case, delves into the malevolent aspects of social media. Yair discusses how platforms can be used to manipulate, control, and emotionally devastate individuals through catfishing and similar deceptive practices. Utilising examples from the Sweet Bobby case, he illustrates the prevalence and harmful effects of catfishing, highlighting the psychological damage it can cause. He offers insights into how predators target the vulnerable and how easily such deceit can lead to severe mental health issues.
To grasp the severe risks present online and discover how to safeguard yourself and your loved ones from being manipulated in similar ways, watch this interview. Learn more about the details of the Sweet Bobby case at Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare – The Lawyer’s Perspective on a Decade of Deception
Yair Cohen explains why social media companies appear to be discriminating against Russian generated content, even when it comes at the expense of vulnerable people who had been subject to people trafficking and to sexual abuse. Read more Online Content Removal
After Facebook fact-checker decided to take on one of the most credible medical publications in the world, Facebook had to admit that its fact-checking is only "an opinion" Read more Facebook fact-check is only an unlearned opinion
ended up with . The British Medical Journal dared to publish whistle-blower report about the mishandling of COVID 19 data trials.
Facebook has been blocking messages from city authorities, health care providers and
community officials promoting vaccination against COVID-19.
This again has called into question how effective the platform is in helping public awareness campaigns. Read more
Does Facebook deliberately promote Chaos | Social Media Lawyer (yaircohen.co.uk)
YouTube deletes RT’s German channels over alleged Covid misinformation
YouTube deprives 500.000,000 news consumers of two popular news channels.
Read more YouTube deletes RT
Solicitor Yair Cohen interview with Good Morning Britain
Social media lawyer Yair Cohen interview about racism in football via social media. Yair explains what needs to be done to stop social media racism for once and for all.
The role of social media ads during election campaigns
The story behind the story of the Sweet Bobby Netflix drama
Yair Cohen and Filiz Kiani, the attorneys involved in one of the most emotionally charged and complex catfishing cases to date, offer fresh insights into the harrowing tale of Kirat’s deception, manipulation, and betrayal. For over ten years, Kirat found herself ensnared in an intricate web of deceit. But what really occurred behind the scenes? What obstacles did her legal team encounter while uncovering the truth? And just how pervasive was this ordeal?
Watch now as Yair Cohen and Filiz Kiani provide an exclusive look into the Sweet Bobby case with their unique, insider viewpoint.
Keen to discover more? Explore the complete legal analysis and undisclosed specifics here: Sweet Bobby - My Catfish Nightmare: The Lawyer's Perspective on a Decade of Deception https://yaircohen.co.uk/sweet-bobby-my-catfish-nightmare-the-lawyers-perspective-on-a-decade-of-deception/
Stay tuned – the reality is more bizarre than you might expect. What you thought you knew about Sweet Bobby could just be the tip of the iceberg.
French data protection regulator has fined Google and Facebook because it found that the social media companies had made it easier for users to accept all cookies, but to reject them all, it would take 5-10 minutes to do. Facebook and Google were told to make it equality easy for their users to opt in and to opt out of their acceptance to the collection of their data.
Why India farmers protest is supported by social media giants who say they will refuse to comply with the take down requests by the Indian government and instead, act upon their own judgement
Yair Cohen, social media lawyer talks live about social media giants' hypocrisy when dealing with the largest democracy in the world.
Read full article Why India farmers protest is supported by social media giants | Social Media Lawyer (yaircohen.co.uk)
Why the decision against Google is important
Google has lost its appeal against a $2.8 billion fine, which was imposed on it by the EU after the European Commission concluded that it was operating in an anti competitive environment.
This decision against Google is important but no many people fully appreciate its significance. Read more Google loses appeal of $2.8 billion fine in E.U. anti-trust case
Yair Cohen explains how he brings private prosecution cases against internet trolls
Speaking to BBC Scotland's Kate Adams, solicitor Yair Cohen explains the reasons for the rise in cases of internet trolling in the UK and how him and his law firm are able to assist victims of internet trolling and harassment
Google found to have misled Australian users in location tracking case. The Australian Federal Court has ruled that Google misled users in the country when it comes to how it collects and uses location data.
Google was particularly crafty on this occasion as it gave users two different security settings, both of which had to be switched off in order for the location tracking to be disabled.
However, only one of the settings mentioned the word “location”. It was called “location history” whilst the other, which Google made sure was turned on by default, was called “webs and apps”.
"Who on earth would have guessed that “webs and apps” setting had anything to do with the location tracking", asks lawyer Yair Cohen.
What are the legal consequences of parents posting images and other private information about their young children on the internet
Read more
Breach of privacy of children when parents post images of their children on social media
How far would employers go, spying on employees who work from home
Can employers lawfully spy on their employees who work form home?
Read more Legal issues aroundspying on employees who work from home
What is Florida Senate Bill 7072 and why it was enacted. Read more about Florida Senate Bill 7072
Never before in human history, have those in charge of carrying public information to billions of people across the planet, been left unregulated. The closest example of large scale information carriers are telephone companies and TV news stations, both of which operate under licences, which prohibit discrimination or selection of their users. Certainly not a selection, which is based on race or on political affiliation. Read more
How far can governments go in using mobile technology during COVID
Tracing apps are playing a significant role in some countries in combating COVID-19. There is no doubt that COVID-19 has given a huge boost to some technological advances but more importantly, the virus has created a public readiness to accept them.
The COVID-19 outbreak helped destroy psychological barriers by making most people accept certain restrictions on their privacy and freedoms, which they would have never previously been willing to even consider.
Read more Why European governments are reluctant to use mobile phone tracking apps during COVID19
Apple’s “crime” was that it made it difficult for a third-party company who developed a child safety app, to sell the app through its app store. Instead, Apple promoted its own app, exclusively.
Read more:
The US might give ransomware threat the same priority as terrorism. Yair Cohen explains in this live panel discussion that as US internal security services have requested powers that will allow them to handle ransomware hacking crimes in the same way that they handle terrorist activities, other crimes might now come under the same banner of terrorism.
Read more The US to give the ransomware threat same priority as terrorism
How do people allow themselves to be catfish?
In this interview on GB News, solicitor Yair Cohen, who was involved in the "Sweet Bobby" case, delves into the malevolent aspects of social media. Yair discusses how platforms can be used to manipulate, control, and emotionally devastate individuals through catfishing and similar deceptive practices. Utilising examples from the Sweet Bobby case, he illustrates the prevalence and harmful effects of catfishing, highlighting the psychological damage it can cause. He offers insights into how predators target the vulnerable and how easily such deceit can lead to severe mental health issues.
To grasp the severe risks present online and discover how to safeguard yourself and your loved ones from being manipulated in similar ways, watch this interview. Learn more about the details of the Sweet Bobby case at Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare – The Lawyer’s Perspective on a Decade of Deception
Yair Cohen explains why social media companies appear to be discriminating against Russian generated content, even when it comes at the expense of vulnerable people who had been subject to people trafficking and to sexual abuse. Read more Online Content Removal
After Facebook fact-checker decided to take on one of the most credible medical publications in the world, Facebook had to admit that its fact-checking is only "an opinion" Read more Facebook fact-check is only an unlearned opinion
ended up with . The British Medical Journal dared to publish whistle-blower report about the mishandling of COVID 19 data trials.
Facebook has been blocking messages from city authorities, health care providers and
community officials promoting vaccination against COVID-19.
This again has called into question how effective the platform is in helping public awareness campaigns. Read more
Does Facebook deliberately promote Chaos | Social Media Lawyer (yaircohen.co.uk)
YouTube deletes RT’s German channels over alleged Covid misinformation
YouTube deprives 500.000,000 news consumers of two popular news channels.
Read more YouTube deletes RT
Solicitor Yair Cohen interview with Good Morning Britain
Social media lawyer Yair Cohen interview about racism in football via social media. Yair explains what needs to be done to stop social media racism for once and for all.
The role of social media ads during election campaigns
The story behind the story of the Sweet Bobby Netflix drama
Yair Cohen and Filiz Kiani, the attorneys involved in one of the most emotionally charged and complex catfishing cases to date, offer fresh insights into the harrowing tale of Kirat’s deception, manipulation, and betrayal. For over ten years, Kirat found herself ensnared in an intricate web of deceit. But what really occurred behind the scenes? What obstacles did her legal team encounter while uncovering the truth? And just how pervasive was this ordeal?
Watch now as Yair Cohen and Filiz Kiani provide an exclusive look into the Sweet Bobby case with their unique, insider viewpoint.
Keen to discover more? Explore the complete legal analysis and undisclosed specifics here: Sweet Bobby - My Catfish Nightmare: The Lawyer's Perspective on a Decade of Deception https://yaircohen.co.uk/sweet-bobby-my-catfish-nightmare-the-lawyers-perspective-on-a-decade-of-deception/
Stay tuned – the reality is more bizarre than you might expect. What you thought you knew about Sweet Bobby could just be the tip of the iceberg.
French data protection regulator has fined Google and Facebook because it found that the social media companies had made it easier for users to accept all cookies, but to reject them all, it would take 5-10 minutes to do. Facebook and Google were told to make it equality easy for their users to opt in and to opt out of their acceptance to the collection of their data.
Why India farmers protest is supported by social media giants who say they will refuse to comply with the take down requests by the Indian government and instead, act upon their own judgement
Yair Cohen, social media lawyer talks live about social media giants' hypocrisy when dealing with the largest democracy in the world.
Read full article Why India farmers protest is supported by social media giants | Social Media Lawyer (yaircohen.co.uk)
Why the decision against Google is important
Google has lost its appeal against a $2.8 billion fine, which was imposed on it by the EU after the European Commission concluded that it was operating in an anti competitive environment.
This decision against Google is important but no many people fully appreciate its significance. Read more Google loses appeal of $2.8 billion fine in E.U. anti-trust case
Yair Cohen explains how he brings private prosecution cases against internet trolls
Speaking to BBC Scotland's Kate Adams, solicitor Yair Cohen explains the reasons for the rise in cases of internet trolling in the UK and how him and his law firm are able to assist victims of internet trolling and harassment
Google found to have misled Australian users in location tracking case. The Australian Federal Court has ruled that Google misled users in the country when it comes to how it collects and uses location data.
Google was particularly crafty on this occasion as it gave users two different security settings, both of which had to be switched off in order for the location tracking to be disabled.
However, only one of the settings mentioned the word “location”. It was called “location history” whilst the other, which Google made sure was turned on by default, was called “webs and apps”.
"Who on earth would have guessed that “webs and apps” setting had anything to do with the location tracking", asks lawyer Yair Cohen.
What are the legal consequences of parents posting images and other private information about their young children on the internet
Read more
Breach of privacy of children when parents post images of their children on social media
How far would employers go, spying on employees who work from home
Can employers lawfully spy on their employees who work form home?
Read more Legal issues aroundspying on employees who work from home
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Latest Cases:
Mel B and Stephen Belafonte Court Case – Why was Mel B slammed with a cost order following her restraining order

The Case of David Paisley vs. Graham Linehan – defamation, liability of page admin to defamation by third party users

Who is Yair Cohen
Yair Cohen is a solicitor whose journey into the vast and intricate domain of internet law began in 1997.
Starting as a web and e-commerce developer, his transition into a full-time internet law specialist was fuelled by a deep understanding of the online ecosystem’s dynamics. His vast experience culminated in his authorship of ‘The Net Is Closing: birth of the e-police’, a pioneering book that delved deep into the realms of online safety and policing.
His authority in the field is undisputed, having been a sought-after voice on TV, radio, newspapers, and notably, a contributing writer for the Daily Mail. Furthermore, Yair is recognized not just for his knowledge but also for being a colourful and engaging speaker, making him a favourite at multiple international internet law conferences. His interactions at these platforms have allowed him to be at the helm of developments in internet law globally.
A glance at some of his landmark cases underscores Yair Cohen’s unparalleled expertise
- The case of Melony Brown (Mel B) v Stephen Belafonte: Yair Cohen successfully defended a non-molestation order application by the former Spice Girl, Mel B against her former husband.
- Brian Dudley v Michael Phillips: A case where a financial advisor was awarded combined damages for defamation and a Data Protection Act breach after enduring 6 years of online harassment.
- XLD v KZL: Yair strategically secured a blackmail injunction, safeguarding the confidentiality of a relationship and the identity of an involved individual.
- R V Paul Britton & Phipps v Paul Britton and Origin Design: A first-of-its-kind case in the UK where an online troll faced dual accountability: in a criminal court and subsequently in a civil case in the High Court.
- Rada-Ortiz v Espinosa-Vadillo: This case set a UK precedent by issuing a harassment injunction against a former UN employee who targeted his previous supervisor.
- Dominated Men and Mario Rogers: Yair’s meticulous investigation unveiled a primary school head teacher’s covert and exploitative life as a porn producer.
- DDF V YYZ: Another first, where Yair achieved service of a harassment injunction via Instagram.
- GYH V Persons Unknown: Yair championed the rights of a transgender sex worker, preserving her right to maintain privacy regarding her transition on review websites.
- The case of Nicola Brookes V Persons Unknown: A pioneering case compelling Facebook to reveal information about an internet troll.
- Lindsey Goldrick Dean V Paul Curran: Yair’s relentless efforts culminated in justice being served in the UK’s longest-known harassment case, lasting for over a decade.
- The Case of Kirat Assi v Simran Kaur Bhogal – Sweet Bobbyi A decade-long catfishing intrigue that saw its conclusion with Yair bringing the culprit to justice in the High Court.
- TJM v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police: A monumental case where, for the first time, a police force was found guilty of the highest level of defamation. Yair represented a Royal Marine who suffered defamation at the hands of the police force.
- The case of The Hampstead satanic cult: An extraordinary case where an entire London community battled the police and CPS for their right to be protected from social media abuse. Following legal intervention, the case was prosecuted, resulting in the highest sentence ever imposed in the UK for harassment being handed down to the perpetrator.
- The case of David Paisley and Graham Linehan: Yair Cohen represents David Paisley, a Scottish actor and transgender rights activist, in a defamation case against Graham Linehan, the creator of Father Ted. Paisley, known for his role in Holby City, is suing Linehan over articles and comments published on Linehan’s Substack blog and social media channels. In a pre-trial hearing at the English High Court, seven different publications by Linehan were presented, which were deemed capable of being defamatory. The court also ruled that Linehan would need to defend comments made by a third party on his platform. Paisley is seeking to clear his name through the forthcoming trial. Linehan, who denies the accusations, has set up a crowdfunding campaign to cover his legal expenses.
With such a vast repertoire of ground-breaking cases, Yair Cohen stands as a beacon in internet law. His experiences, combined with his eloquent engagements, solidify his stature as a leading authority in the realm of digital justice.

“We have got laws in place: the same laws that apply to offline activities apply to online activities.“
Yair Cohen
on BBC Radio
Recent Events
May 2022
The Internet Law Leadership Summit 2022
The annual gathering of the most prominent internet law lawyers and attorneys from across the world
From 09:00 until 17:00
At Aria Hotel, Las Vegas
April 2020
The Data Protection Practitioners' Conference 2020
The annual ICO conference with Information Commissioner, Elizabeth Denham CBE
From 08:30 until 17:00
At Manchester Central Convention Complex