Online auction glitch caused by 'rogue' server costs premature bidder classic 1976 Ford, court told

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Matrix Legal acted for Adrian Portelli’s company and successfully defended the case brought against his company from Classic Cars in the NSW Supreme Court Equity Division

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-19/nsw-supreme-court-clears-grays-of-breached-user-agreement/102749928?utm_campaign=abc_news_web&utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_source=abc_news_web

Will anti-trolling laws make the internet safer for everyday people?

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A local café in Melbourne has decided to permanently close its doors after receiving regular negative comments on their social media page, and a teenage journalist is being trolled on Twitter.

Can the proposed 'anti-trolling' bill help protect everyday people and businesses from the internet 'pile on'?

Listen in to the audio located within the below ABC link from the 27th minute mark to listen to my view on the matter.

https://www.abc.net.au/radio/melbourne/programs/theconversationhour/the-conversation-hour/13740462

'Online reputations' must be carefully cultivated or they will affect our 'real' lives, cybersecurity expert warns

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Cybersecurity adviser Dan Holman says "these days everyone's got two lives" — one that is lived alongside friends, family and colleagues, and the other that exists in online comment sections, news feeds and virtual groups.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-02/your-digital-footprint-is-an-online-reputation-for-employers/100658552

New Australian laws to unmask anonymous online trolls and make tech giants pay

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Anonymous online trolls will be unmasked in a new social media crackdown that will hand Australian courts the power to order tech giants to identify perpetrators or risk bearing the cost of defamation payouts themselves.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/new-australian-laws-to-unmask-anonymous-online-trolls-and-make-tech-giants-pay-20211128-p59csb.html?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR1C9ozCznLWgRFY3ZI8Juvs8L2EZWWdpNfg7i1aLPuqeyV1ppxBfCEohq8#Echobox=1638060506

Judge Says Mr Mark Stanarevic "is an experienced [Defamation] practitioner"

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Further, I accept Mr Stanarevic is an experienced practitioner in this area and I accept his evidence that in his experience, Google has a policy or practice of not responding to requests of this kind without a Court order. As I have in relation to the question of service, I also accept his evidence that it is appropriate to order service of the Court’s order, not only by international registered post, but also by email to Google’s dedicated civil proceedings email.

http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/FCA//2021/1393.html

Labor Party members get $200,000 defamation payout for Facebook posts

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A Victorian court has awarded $200,000 in damages to two brothers, one of whom owns the Thornbury Theatre, over “false and defamatory” comments on Facebook that linked them to political fraud in the Labor Party.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/labor-party-members-get-200-000-defamation-payout-for-facebook-posts-20210511-p57qvl.html

‘Stakes can be very high’: Defamation cases in Victorian courts tripled in 2020

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Defamation cases tripled in Victorian courts in 2020, with “backyard” disputes and social media warfare likely fuelling the numbers, even with the state in COVID-19 lockdowns for most of the year.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/stakes-can-be-very-high-defamation-cases-in-victorian-courts-tripled-in-2020-20210810-p58hep.html

Seven could face hefty legal bill after wrongfully identifying man over Cleo abduction

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A man wrongfully identified by a Seven West media platform as the suspect in custody over the abduction of Cleo Smith could sue the conglomerate for more than $400,000, according to defamation lawyers.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/western-australia/seven-west-apologises-for-wrongfully-identifying-man-over-cleo-smith-s-abduction-20211104-p5960h.html

Well-known Melbourne lawyer goes head-to head against Google

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A Melbourne lawyer is going head-to-head with Google, claiming the tech giant refused to help her reveal the true identity of a negative reviewer who she suspects is really a legal competitor.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/wellknown-melbourne-lawyer-goes-headtohead-against-google/news-story/34d8aa6f515c0eb3fcfbc8ea62073860

Big Tech defamation law push

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Defamation laws applied to Google, Facebook and Twitter should be as similar as possible to those that apply to traditional news outlets, Attorney-General Christian Porter says.

Mr Porter said the business models of the social media giants were very similar to that of the traditional news media, in that they sold advertising to customers attracted to content.

“Yet the rules that apply to traditional news media, print and television are very different, more prescriptive — and safer, I would argue — than those that apply to digital platforms,” he said.

Mr Porter said the laws that applied to digital platforms and traditional news publishers “should be as similar as reasonably possible”.

“Otherwise one business type is held to a higher standard and to a commercial disadvantage, and it’s just not fair,” he said.

The nation’s attorney-generals agreed in July to defamation reforms aimed at reducing huge payouts, weeding out trivial claims and better protecting public interest journalism.

NSW was the first to pass the reforms, followed by South Australia and Victoria, while other states have been dragging the chain. The next stage of defamation law reform will include examining how the law should be applied to digital platforms.

Mr Porter said the commonwealth would play a significant role in resolving the issue and there was “growing support” for extending the laws to social media companies.

“It’s not uncomplicated and it’s a very important decision because it will represent potentially a fundamental restructure of the law in that area if it were the case that you would consider in some circumstances digital platforms to be publishers,” the Attorney-General said.

Mr Porter’s comments come as the Morrison government is already engaged in a fight with the technology giants over laws that would force them to enter into negotiations with traditional news publishers to pay them for their content.

Google has threatened to shut down its search engine in Australia, while Facebook has threatened to pull news content from its feeds for users based in Australia.

Online reviews could be harming your business

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It requires barely any effort for current and former staff to jump online and leave not just a rating but a comment about their employer. No matter how nasty. So I was curious recently to see how colleagues of mine in the past had rated the two employers at which I was employed the longest. The contrast was surprising. And not only because they were so different.

https://www.theage.com.au/business/small-business/online-reviews-could-be-harming-your-business-20210204-p56zof.html

Aussie small businesses consider legal action against Google over click fraud

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Small businesses suspicious of click fraud are pursuing a legal battle with Google, against a backdrop of increasing concern by Australia’s consumer watchdog about Google’s dominance across the ad tech supply chain.

https://www.smartcompany.com.au/marketing/advertising/aussie-smes-legal-action-against-google-click-fraud/

Thief alleges former boss racially abused him before $3.2m heist

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A man who stole $3.2 million from a Melbourne gold dealer during a staged hold-up has told a court he used to be racially abused and bullied by his former employer, whom he said was known as “the world’s worst boss”.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/thief-alleges-former-boss-racially-abused-him-before-3-2m-heist-20210201-p56ygu.html