Media companies that are fighting defamation proceedings over articles that accused decorated war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith of war crimes have won court permission to amend their defence to include evidence the soldier was involved in another alleged murder.
Google and Facebook will face penalties of at least $10 million for breaches of a media bargaining code drafted by the ACCC that aims to create a “level playing field” between Australian media companies and the tech giants.
A judge has handed ASIC a “narrow” win in its action against former Tennis Australia director Harold Mitchell, tossing most of the regulator’s case and accusing it of “confirmatory bias”.
Venture capitalist Elaine Stead has refused to go into a second round of mediation in her defamation case against the Nine-owned Fairfax Media Publications saying it would be a “waste of time”.
A transgender woman has won a preliminary legal fight with the Australia Press Council over claims the organisation discriminated against her in dismissing her complaint about a news article naming her as the accused behind a “terrifying 7/11 axe attack”.
Former Liberal leader John Hewson has filed a defamation suit against Nine, claiming a report by A Current Affair about his insurance firm was gratuitous and “seriously dishonest”.
Google has reached agreements with publishers in three countries to pay for news, as the ACCC works out the details of a mandatory code under which the search giant and Facebook would be forced to pay publishers for news.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has agreed to pay 1,800 current and former casual staff $12 million in unpaid wages, following an investigation by the Fair Work Ombudsman that found some workers were paid less than minimum wage.
A group of IP lawyers has warned the Government will have to proceed carefully in establishing a mandatory code under which Google and Facebook would be forced to pay news publishers for content, saying such a move could be struck down under existing High Court precedent.
A criminal defence lawyer who represented convicted criminal Salim Mehajer has sued Fairfax Media over an article by a Sydney Morning Herald gossip columnist that allegedly implies she breached her oath as a solicitor for being romantically involved with clients.