ALAN ARNOTT NAMED AS FINALIST IN THE 2021 LAWYERS WEEKLY PARTNER OF THE YEAR AWARDS FOR TWO CATEGORIES

Alan Arnott, Director at Arnotts Technology Lawyers has been short-listed for the Lawyers Weekly Partner of the Year Awards 2021. Alan has been named as a finalist in the Lawyers Weekly Partner of the Year Awards for two categories – Technology Law; and Media & Telecommunications.   The Partner of the Year Awards recognises and …

Last modified on December 7th, 2021 at 12:15 am

ENCRYPTED ANOM PHONES LEAD FBI TO GLOBAL CRIME BUST

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) alongside several international law enforcement agencies recently revealed their secret against encrypted criminal activities around the globe. In a united front, the FBI, Australian Federal Police (AFP), and several European law enforcement agencies, such as Europol, conducted 800 international criminal arrests due to their hidden network monitoring. As it …

Last modified on December 7th, 2021 at 12:13 am

NSW POLICE UNVEILS NEW VIDEO ANALYSIS TOOLS

In a data-driven society, the NSW Police force has revealed how it sifts through terabytes of data each day. In late 2017, the NSW Police rolled out a new digital IT strategy, which included the addition of the Policing Operating System (IPOS). This initiative was implemented to help parse data acquired by CCTV cameras, body …

Last modified on December 7th, 2021 at 12:12 am

APPLE’S ICLOUD ACCOUNT LEGACY SYSTEM ALLOWS USERS TO CHOOSE WHO INHERITS THEIR ICLOUD DATA AFTER DEATH

In their latest iOS update, Apple will implement the iCloud Account Legacy feature which will enable users to nominate a friend or family member to access their Apple accounts and data after death. This feature has been campaigned for by users for many years now. Previously, Apple required both the grant of probate as well …

Last modified on December 7th, 2021 at 12:11 am

AUSTRALIAN CONSUMER LAW: INCREASE TO THRESHOLD TEST FROM 1 JULY 2021

With effect from 1 July 2021, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Acquisition as Consumer—Financial Thresholds) Regulations 2020 (Cth) amends the Competition and Consumer Regulations 2010 (Cth) (CCR) by inserting a new regulation 77A to increase the $40,000 threshold to $100,000. This means that (subject to certain other provisions) from that date, a “consumer” for the purposes …

Last modified on December 7th, 2021 at 12:10 am

AUSTRALIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION ISSUES WARNINGS FOR AI BIAS IN LOAN ASSESSMENTS

The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has urged banks to be careful of biases in artificial intelligence (AI) technology used to assess customer creditworthiness. In its final report, the AHRC’s Commissioner Edward Santow noted that AI systems used in banks are built on historical inaccuracies that have led to discrepancies and discriminations in the past. …

Last modified on December 7th, 2021 at 12:09 am

FACEBOOK REJECTS PUBLISHER’S REQUEST TO NEGOTIATE A LICENSING DEAL

Following Australia’s news publication debacle, Facebook has recently rejected an Australian publisher’s request to negotiate a licensing deal.  The News Media Bargaining Code has imposed obligations on social media platforms and Australian news media to negotiate content-supply deals in order to balance bargaining powers between the parties. Ever since the Codes proposal, digital platforms have …

Last modified on December 7th, 2021 at 12:08 am

AUSTRALIA’S ESAFETY COMMISSIONER GAINS NEW POWER WITH ONLINE SAFETY BILL AMENDMENTS

The Australian House of Representatives recently agreed to the Senate’s amendments and passed the Online Safety Bill 2021. This updated legislation is targeted at mitigating online cyber abuse by forcefully requiring social media platforms to remove harmful online content within 24 hours or risk being fined up to $415,000. This legislation was created following the …