A statement from TransUnion, which owns the TLOxp service, said: “Safeguarding information is TransUnion’s top priority. After the phone hacking scandal of 2011, which began with the hacking of the cellphone of a murdered 13-year-old girl and ultimately revealed the underhanded and illegal ways that British tabloids obtain their juiciest scoops, much of the British news media stopped covering the issue; Byline Reports has stayed with the topic. The scandal and ensuing legal penalties were supposed to put an end to such practices. But according to Mr. Portley-Hanks, some journalists didn’t take it seriously. At one point, The Sun “sent me a letter I had to sign that said I wouldn’t use any illegal methods to locate people or do background checks,” he said in an interview.

Source: New York Times March 18, 2021 19:32 UTC