Weaponised SARs in 2026
Mark Farrell & Amber Sivill
Written by Mark Farrell and Amber Sivill
A follow-up to our original Weaponised SARs session, this time looking at what’s actually changed. Mark Farrell and Amber Sivill cover the shift in vexatious requests, AI-generated SARs, and whether the manifestly unfounded exemption is holding up in practice.
Weaponised SARs in 2026: What’s Actually Changed Since We Last Covered This
Hosted by Mark Farrell and Amber Sivill
Picking Up Where We Left Off
Weaponised SARs isn’t a new topic for us. Cate and Caine covered it back in April, unpacking what happens when a subject access request stops being about genuine data access and starts being used as leverage instead, in employment disputes, in litigation, in disputes with former partners or competitors, wherever someone works out that a SAR can apply pressure a straightforward email can’t.
That conversation struck a nerve, and it’s not one that’s gone quiet since. New hosts, same subject, revisited properly rather than repeated.
What’s On The Table This Time
Data protection doesn’t stand still, and neither does the way SARs get used against organisations. This session picks apart what’s actually shifted since we last covered it, not just restating the problem, but asking what’s genuinely different now:
- How the volume and shape of vexatious and manifestly unfounded requests has moved, and what that looks like from the inside of a SAR team dealing with it week to week.
- Whether AI tools have made it easier for individuals to generate broader, more complex requests with far less effort than it used to take, and what that means for organisations on the receiving end.
- How the “manifestly unfounded or excessive” exemption is actually holding up in practice, not just on paper, and where organisations are getting it wrong.
- What’s changed in how employment disputes specifically are using SARs as a tactic, and whether HR and legal teams have caught up.
New Hosts, Same Straight-Talking Format
Mark Farrell and Amber Sivill take the mic for this one, carrying on the same approach the show’s always had: no overcomplicating it, no selling, just a genuine conversation about a topic that affects real organisations dealing with real requests.