Administrative / Public Law · First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber)
Jonathan Moses v The Information Commissioner
Checked against the judgment on 19 September 2026 · how we verify
Facts
The applicant, Jonathan Moses, complained to the Information Commissioner about the processing of his personal data by HarperCollins Publishers Limited and its publication in a book released in April 2025 by a subsidiary. He objected to quotations attributed to him, which he said were either fabricated or altered so as to obstruct their meaning, and for which he had given no permission. The complaint was submitted on 19 September 2025. After correspondence in December 2025 and requests for updates in January and April 2026, the Commissioner's case officer wrote on 28 April 2026, concluding that HarperCollins had likely complied with its data protection obligations in refusing the erasure request in reliance on the journalistic exemption in Schedule 2, Part 5, paragraph 26 of the Data Protection Act 2018, and proposing no regulatory action. On review, the Commissioner's reviewing officer on 1 June 2026 upheld that outcome. The applicant applied to the First-tier Tribunal by form GRC1 dated 28 June 2026, treated as an application under section 166 of the Data Protection Act 2018, seeking an order that the Commissioner require HarperCollins to evidence the basis of the exemption and issue a fresh response. The Commissioner applied on 22 July 2026 to strike out the application.
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