Australia Archives

In Artificial Intelligence

AI Regulation Down Under: A Balancing Act

January 24, 2024 by Adrian Lawrence, Toby Patten, Anne Petterd, Caitlin Whale, Jarrod Bayliss-McCulloch, Alex Hewitt and Liz Grimwood-Taylor 2 Mins Read

While the EU is driving ahead towards comprehensive, rules-based regulation of artificial intelligence (AI), other jurisdictions like the UK have been holding back, adopting a sector-specific principles-based approach to governing AI. Recent announcements by the Australian Government suggest that the antipodean jurisdiction will take a middle road, with the government acknowledging that additional mandatory safeguards are required for “high-risk” AI applications but contemplating more flexibility in lower-risk contexts. In 2023, the Australian Government conducted a…

In Data Privacy

Data Protection Day – Key developments and trends for 2023

January 26, 2023 by Benjamin Slinn, Vinod Bange, Dr Lukas Feiler, Alissa Forstner, Liz Grimwood-Taylor, Anne-Marie Allgrove, Anne Petterd, Caitlin Whale, Adrian Lawrence, Toby Patten, Guillermo José Cervio, Valentina Salas, Valentina Biondi Grane, Elisabeth Dehareng, Caroline Serbanescu, Flavia Rebello, Theo Ling, Conrad Flaczyk, Nadia Rauf, Carolina Pardo, Magalie Dansac Le Clerc, Yann Padova, Florian Tannen, Dr Michaela Nebel, Prof. Dr. Michael Schmidl, Jiří Čermák, Milena Hoffmanová, Lenka Bešťáková, Francesca Gaudino, Yuki Kondo, Daisuke Tatsuno, Kensaku Takase, Dr. Csaba Vári, Marcia Lee, Benjamin Lau, Daniel Villanueva-Plasencia, Carlos Vela-Trevino, Elvia Aragon, Nathalja Doing, Teresa Tovar, Bienvenido A. Marquez III, Frederick August I. Jose, Radoslaw Nozykowski, Patricia Pérez, Peder Oxhammar, William Höglund, Emelie Ageby Svensson, Margarita Kozlov, Johanna Moesch (Mösch), Nadine Charrière, Muriel Binder, Jo-Fan Yu, Dhiraphol Suwanprateep, Pattaraphan Paiboon, Kritiyanee Buranatrevedhya, Thananya Chaikamonsuk, Can Sozer, Yigit Acar, Ecem Elver, Aybuke Gundel, Kellie Blyth, Maher Ghalloussi, Alex Toh, Ken Chia, Cristina Messerschmidt, Rachel Ehlers, Cynthia Cole, Brian Hengesbaugh, Stephen Reynolds, Nick Merker, Harry Valetk, Lothar Determann, Jonathan Tam, Helena Engfeldt, Maria Eugenia Salazar-Furiati, Manh Hung Tran and Jacqueline Wong 102 Mins Read

28 January 2023 is Data Protection Day (or Data Privacy Day outside of Europe), which marks the anniversary of the Council of Europe’s Convention 108. To mark Data Protection Day 2023, Baker McKenzie’s Global Data Privacy and Security Team is pleased to present this special edition update of key data protection and privacy developments and trends across the globe, as well summarising future legislative changes, predictions, and enforcement priorities to look out for during 2023.…

In Data Privacy

Vietnam: Leading Tech Giants for Copyright Owners

February 9, 2022 by Manh Hung Tran 4 Mins Read

The Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications (“MIC”) published a Draft Decree (“Draft Decree”) amending Decree No. 72/2013/ND-CP on the management, provision, and use of Internet services and online information and Decree No. 27/2018/ND-CP amending Decree 72/2013/ND-CP (collectively referred to as “Decree 72”) for public consultation. Social networks have been one of the main subjects of application of Decree 72. Among other things, the Draft Decree suggests an amendment to Article 22 of Decree 72…

In Artificial Intelligence

Australia: AI Passes the Inventor Test

August 5, 2021 by Helen Macpherson, Victoria Bell and Sumer Dayal 9 Mins Read

AI systems can be named inventors under the Patents Act and Patents Regulations says the Australian Federal Court.

In Digital Media & Content

COVID-19, Digital Platforms and Media Reform in Australia

April 23, 2020 by Adrian Lawrence, Anne-Marie Allgrove and Anne Petterd 2 Mins Read

The Australian Government has announced a range of short term and long term measures to assist Australian media businesses in light of COVID-19 and its impact on the sector. In addition to new industry relief measures, the Government and key regulators such as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) have announced that various media reform initiatives already underway in 2020 will be accelerated, delayed or altered in some…

In Video Games

Australia: Parliamentary Committee Push for Loot Box Regulation

March 23, 2020 by Sarah Lee and Adrian Lawrence 4 Mins Read

In February this year, the Australian House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs called for government departments to explore ways to restrict access to loot boxes for those younger than 18 years old, including through mandatory age checks. This recommendation formed part of six broader recommendations made in a Parliamentary Committee report published on 4 March 2020 following an inquiry into age verification for online wagering and online pornography. The report…

In Artificial Intelligence

Human Rights and Technology: Australian Developments and the Global Context

January 7, 2020 by Birgit Clark and Liz Grimwood-Taylor 3 Mins Read

On December 17, 2019, The Australian Human Rights Commission unveiled a Discussion Paper on Human Rights and Technology, which includes draft proposals to prevent discrimination driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and intrusive facial recognition. This follows the recent rejection of the Australian Government’s proposed facial recognition legislation by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) due to privacy concerns. The discussion paper proposes a National Strategy on New and Emerging Technologies for Australia to help…

In Data Privacy

Australia – “Encryption bill” published with new rules proposed for Telcos and OTTs

August 15, 2018 by Patrick Fair 2 Mins Read

The Australian government on 13 August 2018 published the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Bill. This Bill will bring important changes to the regulation of electronic communication services in Australia. This proposed new law enables national security agencies and law enforcement bodies to deliver either a request (“technical assistance request”) or a requirement (“technical assistance notice” or “technical capability notice”) that will require a “designated communications provider” (a widely defined term that will…

In Video Games

We Happy Few: An Example For Appealing Australian Classification Decisions

July 10, 2018 by Sebastian Schwiddessen 13 Mins Read

Australia is one of the few countries where video games are still regularly refused classification (RC), even after the R18+ rating was finally introduced in 2013, which allowed for more mature content in video games than the previous highest MA 15+ rating. Additionally, several video game and movie rating decisions are appealed each year to obtain a lower age-rating to be able to reach a broader audience. Recently the Australian Classification Board (ACB) overturned the…

In Data Breaches

Mandatory data breach notification coming to Australia

December 6, 2017 by Patrick Fair 4 Mins Read

Mandatory data breach notification (MDBN) becomes law in Australia on 22 February 2018. This is a high-impact development requiring businesses to respond as expenditure on advertising and years of building customer trust through high-quality service and reputable conduct is put at risk by the obligation to inform customers when security measures fail. Does the law apply to you? Subject to some exceptions the mandatory notification provisions will apply to private sector entities subject to the…