Last updated: 27 September 2026. This notice replaces the version dated 12 November 2016.
This is my personal blog. I am Yair Cohen, a solicitor, and I write here in my own name about internet law, the cases I have been involved in and what I think about how the internet is regulated. This notice explains what personal information the blog collects about you, why, what I do with it, and the rights you have over it. I have tried to write it so that you do not need a lawyer to read it.
For the purposes of the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018, the person responsible for personal information collected through this blog (the “controller”) is me, Yair Cohen, writing as yaircohen.co.uk. This blog is separate from my law firm, Cohen Davis Solicitors. The firm has its own privacy notice, which applies if you become its client; this one applies to the blog.
What I collect, and why
If you only read the blog. The web server that hosts the site records the usual technical information about each visit: your IP address, the pages you request, the time, your browser and operating system, and the page that sent you here. The site also runs a security plugin, Wordfence, which records IP addresses and blocks addresses that behave like attackers. I use this information to keep the site running and secure, to see which articles are read, and to investigate abuse. My lawful basis is my legitimate interest in running a secure website. Server and security logs are kept for a short period, normally no more than 30 days, unless they are needed to investigate an incident.
If you sign up for email updates. The sign-up boxes ask for your name and email address. They are run by AWeber, an email service I use to send the updates, and your details are stored with AWeber. I use them only to send you the updates you asked for. My lawful basis is your consent, which you can withdraw at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the foot of any email; your details are then removed from the active list. I keep them for as long as you stay subscribed.
If you contact me. The contact form asks for your name, email address, telephone number and message, and it is also run through AWeber. I use what you send to reply to you. If your message is a request for legal help, I will pass it to Cohen Davis Solicitors so that the firm can respond, and from that point the firm’s privacy notice applies. My lawful basis is your request that I reply (steps taken at your request before any contract) and my legitimate interest in responding to people who write to me. I keep enquiries for up to two years, or longer if they lead to a matter or a dispute.
If you comment on an article. WordPress collects the name, email address and website you enter, the comment itself and your IP address, which it uses to help detect spam. Your name and comment are published; your email address is not. WordPress also offers to remember your details in a cookie so that you do not have to type them again; that only happens if you tick the box. My lawful basis is my legitimate interest in running a moderated comment section. Comments stay on the site with the article unless you ask me to remove them.
Content from other companies
Some parts of the blog are provided by other companies, and when your browser loads them it sends those companies your IP address and, in some cases, sets their cookies. I do not receive that information. The services are:
- Vimeo and YouTube, which play the videos embedded in some articles.
- Google Fonts and Font Awesome, which supply the typefaces and icons.
- Gravatar, which supplies the small profile pictures beside comments.
- AddToAny, which provides the share buttons. Nothing is sent to a social network until you click a button.
- AWeber, which runs the sign-up and contact forms described above.
Each of those companies is responsible for what it does with that information, under its own privacy notice, linked above.
Cookies
The blog sets very few cookies of its own. WordPress sets a cookie if you choose to have your comment details remembered, and sets cookies for people who log in to the site, which will not be you unless you are me. The video gallery sets a cookie that only controls the order in which videos are shown. The embedded services above may set their own cookies when their content loads. I do not run advertising, and at the time of this notice no analytics service is switched on; if I switch one on I will update this notice and ask for your consent where the law requires it. The rules on cookies are in regulation 6 of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003. You can block or delete cookies through your browser settings; the site works without them.
Where your information goes
The site is hosted by IONOS, a European hosting company, on a server in the European Union. The UK Government treats the European Union as providing adequate protection for personal information, so no extra safeguard is needed for that (ICO guide to international transfers). AWeber is a United States company. It says it participates in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and its UK Extension, which the UK Government has recognised as providing adequate protection for information sent to the United States. The other services listed above may also process information outside the UK, under their own safeguards. I do not sell personal information to anyone.
Your rights
Under the UK GDPR you have the right to ask me for a copy of the personal information I hold about you, to have it corrected or deleted, to restrict or object to what I do with it, to receive it in a portable form, and to withdraw consent where consent is the basis on which I hold it. The Information Commissioner’s Office explains these rights in plain terms on its website. To exercise any of them, write to me through the contact page. I will reply within one month. I may ask you to confirm your identity first, so that I do not hand your information to someone else.
If you are unhappy with how I have handled your information, I would ask you to tell me first so that I can put it right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK regulator for data protection.
Children
This blog is written for adults and I do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If you believe a child has given me personal information, please tell me and I will delete it.
Changes to this notice
I will update this notice when the way the blog works changes. The date at the top tells you when it was last revised. Older versions are not kept on the site, but you can ask me for one.