Stephens Lawyers & Consultants* Publication of defamatory comments on websites, social media and business networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn can cause devastating harm to both personal and business reputation and business losses. Some of the defamatory material published is of such an extreme nature that it has been described as being… Read More
Read moreRisk Management: Data Protection and Privacy Compliance by Katarina Klaric, Principal and Director, Stephens Lawyers & Consultants Privacy compliance and data breach risk management is too often not taken seriously by Australian organisations. The complexity of organisational structures and IT business systems in many instances results in management not knowing what data is collected by… Read More
Read moreLegal Update – July 2020 Data breaches involving an individual’s personal, medical and financial/credit information can result in reputational damage and financial losses. The Australian privacy law provides for an individual affected by a data privacy breach to seek compensation from the organisation involved in the breach. Stephens Lawyers & Consultants provides a review of… Read More
Read more25 August 2020 Introduction Individuals and businesses continue to be targets of defamatory statements, and false or disparaging reviews published on social media platforms such as Facebook or Google My Business, which cause significant reputational damage and loss. Where the publisher refuses to take down the offending material, the affected party has no option but… Read More
Read moreby Katarina Klaric, Principal & Director, Stephens Lawyers & Consultants Electronic marketing campaigns play a significant part in business’s overall marketing strategy for the promotion of their business, goods and services. They provide an effective tool for the delivery of marketing messages via email or text messaging. However, businesses utilising electronic marketing communications that are… Read More
Read moreby Katarina Klaric, Principal, Stephens Lawyers & Consultants COVID-19 restrictions have resulted in many workplaces requiring their employees to work remotely from home. This has resulted in unprecedented technological challenges for government agencies and private sector/non-for-profit organisations to implement technological solutions which enable secure data access and connectivity for their employees. The use of video… Read More
Read moreIn adapting to the restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, workplaces have been relying on Zoom Video Communications’ (Zoom) videoconferencing technology which has enabled people working from home to connect with colleagues and the public. However, as Zoom’s popularity increases, workplaces should consider whether Zoom is the appropriate forum to hold private and confidential workplace… Read More
Read moreBusinesses should be aware that competition and consumer laws still apply during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) released the ACCC 2020 Compliance and Enforcement Priorities in February 2020. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, on 27 March 2020, the ACCC announced that the 2020 Compliance and Enforcement Priorities will remain… Read More
Read moreThe Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (‘ACCC’), the agency responsible for enforcement of competition, consumer and product safety laws in Australia has issued its 2020 Compliance and Enforcement Policy[i]. The ACCC’s focus will remain on product safety issues likely to cause serious harm to consumers and on conduct that will or has the potential to harm… Read More
Read moreBy Katarina Klaric, Principal, Stephens Lawyers & Consultants The on-line dissemination of defamatory material can go viral and result in significant reputational damage to individuals and businesses. Internet search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo further disseminate such material on their websites in search results. Search engine proprietors have sought to exclude their… Read More
Read more