How can mental capacity be assessed in the online sphere? Laura Davidson examines two recent rulings in the Court of Protection
- Two recent Court of Protection cases consider mental capacity and consent through the lens of internet and social media use.
The Court of Protection was recently propelled into the technological present, with two linked cases focusing for the first time on internet and social media use by adults with learning disability. Re A (capacity: social media and internet use: best interests) [2019] EWCOP 2, [2019] All ER (D) 124 (Feb) and Re B (capacity: social media: care and contact) [2019] EWCOP 3, [2019] All ER (D) 125 (Feb) involve the sensitive topic of capacity to consent to sexual relations, and address the minefield of ‘insidious threats posed by… those who prey on the wider vulnerabilities of the young, the learning disabled, the needy and the incautious’ through ‘mate crime’ (online befriending with abusive intent) (Re A , para [4]). The court sought the right balance between protection against the internet’s darker side, with its access
