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Data & Tech: Navigating a connected world

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Navigating digitisation and new technologies

The digital economy is evolving faster than ever. Data beats at the heart of our digital economy though no longer seen just as gold mined by businesses for insights, but gold stolen by cyber criminals for extortion. New and emerging technologies such as GenAI, the Metaverse and biometric recognition are reshaping the business and legal landscape and give rise to critical societal and economic issues like privacy, inclusion and the future of work.

Globally, we’re seeing the rise of the regulator while governments grapple with the implications of new technologies and digital markets- such as the EU’s AI Act and China’s draft Measures for the Management of Generative AI Services. In Australia, the Government is still considering how to regulate AI and introducing privacy reform in its response to the Attorney-General’s Privacy Act Review Report.

To grow in our digital economy, you need to navigate a complex data, tech and regulatory landscape that requires understanding, insight and judgement.

  • How will you manage privacy and consumer demand for greater control over the use and disclosure of their personal information?
  • Can you balance the need to use that information against existing and future regulatory obligations to protect, retain and destroy it?
  • How will you ensure your business is not just cyber secure, but cyber resilient where cyber threats are growing in frequency and impact?

Our team of specialist are at the cutting edge of these issues and are ready to guide you through the complexities of our evolving digital landscape. 

KWM Digital Future Summit

Our signature four-day summit exploring a wide range of perspectives on the future of digitisation and regulation of data and emerging technologies.

 

"Complex and sophisticated matters are where KWM excel." 

- TMT: IT & Telecommunications - Chambers Asia-Pacific (2023)

 

OUR DATA & TECH INSIGHTS

Report of the Statutory Review of the Online Safety Act 2021 released

The Government has tabled a report on the review of the Online Safety Act 2021 (Online Safety Act or OSA).

10 February 2025

Cyber security - if you share an incident report with the government, can it come back to bite you?

Cyber security legislation enacted by the Australian Parliament in late 2024 sought to encourage full and frank disclosure to the government of information by organisations impacted by serious cyber security incidents.

07 February 2025

Australia’s ‘nature positive’ reforms: dormant, not dead

This week, the Federal Government formally shelved its ‘nature positive’ reform legislation after failing to secure support for the bills in the Senate.

06 February 2025

CISC is consulting on rules to be made under Omnibus Cyber Security and Critical Infrastructure Package

The Cyber and Infrastructure Security Centre (CISC) is consulting on proposed new rules to support the implementation of the Government’s recently assented Omnibus Cyber Security and Critical Infrastructure Package. Consultation closes on 14 February 2025.

24 January 2025

Future ready: deadline approaches for Government to be AI trained

The deadline for Commonwealth entities to train their people in Artificial intelligence (AI), including generative AI, is fast approaching.

21 January 2025

Crypto custody: ASIC expands its Regulatory Guidance under RG 133

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has reissued Regulatory Guide 133 Funds management and Custodial Services: Holding assets (RG 133).

15 January 2025

Privacy Annual Update 2024

Each year, we write this publication to recap the key developments in Australian privacy law over the past year.

11 December 2024

How transparent will you be? Building trust through Australian Government AI Transparency Statements

Welcome to the first in our series of articles on AI in Government. There is a lot going on in this space, so we’ll be tackling the big issues one at a time in an easily digestible format.

10 December 2024

ASIC issues draft guidance on digital assets

ASIC’s proposed updates reflect the regulator’s evolving interpretation of how the Corporations Act 2001 (Corporations Act) applies to crypto- and digital assets since INFO 225 was last updated in October 2021.

05 December 2024

Spotlight on crypto tax avoiders: Consultation Paper released on Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework

The Australian Treasury has released a long-awaited consultation paper on Australia’s implementation of the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) and amendments to the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) (OECD Crypto Rules).

03 December 2024

An omnibus cyber security and critical infrastructure package

The Government’s legislative package that implements a range of initiatives aimed at improving Australia’s cyber security consistent with its 2023-2030 Cyber Security Strategy has now been passed and is awaiting Royal Assent.

27 November 2024

Social Media Minimum Age Bill Introduced

The Government has introduced the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 (Bill) into Parliament.

22 November 2024

Data Wars Part IV: Enforcement reforms in the Privacy Amendment Bill

The Australian Government is seeking to implement reforms to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act).

21 November 2024

Data Wars Part III: Statutory tort, incoming!

With a substantially pared back Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 (the Bill) before Parliament, only the statutory tort remains.

15 October 2024

An Omnibus Cyber Security and Infrastructure Package

The Government has released a legislative package that implements a range of initiatives aimed at improving Australia’s cyber security consistent with its 2023-2030 Cyber Security Strategy.

14 October 2024

Whose phone is it anyway? Navigating employee privacy and employer data in the age of BYOD

An ever-increasing proportion of business is conducted outside of the physical office and contracted hours – most commonly, on an employee’s mobile device, whether it is their personal device or employer-provided.

11 October 2024

The future of digital money is coming – evolutionary steps for Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in Australia

An evolution of Australia’s monetary arrangements is a step closer this week, with the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and Commonwealth Treasury releasing an important new paper on central bank digital currency (CBDC).

20 September 2024

Unpacking the Scams Prevention Framework: what you need to know

The Government's proposed Scams Prevention Framework (SPF) is a significant regulatory development, imposing broad positive obligations on telco providers, banks, and digital platform providers (as a start) to protect consumers from scams.

18 September 2024

Breaking down the Privacy Amendment Bill

The Government has (at last) introduced the first tranche of long-anticipated privacy reforms.

18 September 2024

AI regulation is coming to Australia: what you need to know

The Australian Government has released a proposal for the introduction of ten mandatory guardrails (Mandatory Guardrails) that AI developers and deployers must comply with for AI in “high-risk” settings and general purpose AI models.

16 September 2024

Privacy Act Reforms – A Long Running Saga, Yet Still to be Continued …

A privacy reform Bill has been introduced to parliament. If enacted, the Bill will implement significant changes to the Privacy Act, including introducing broader enforcement powers for the Australian Information Commissioner, a statutory tort for serious invasions of privacy, greater transparency for individuals regarding use of personal information for automated decision-making, and additional protections for children’s privacy.

12 September 2024

Australia’s privacy reforms are about to arrive! Five significant things to keep an eye out for

With draft legislation for implementation of reforms to Australian privacy laws likely to be introduced this month, we’ve taken a look at some of the more impactful changes likely to be flagged and what that might mean for your organisation.

05 September 2024

Consumer Energy Resources: AI and automation

Consumer energy resources (CERs) are consumer-owned devices that generate, store, or manage electricity.

05 September 2024

When innovation meets regulation: The KWM Digital Future Summit 2024

Trust, safety, security and the regulators’ rise were central to messages shared across the 11 sessions at the KWM Digital Future Summit 2024, which culminated in a focus on the technology and innovation that is at the heart of our energy transition.

03 September 2024

Data Wars Part II: A direct right of action

In our previous Insight, we explored the proposed statutory tort for serious invasions of privacy detailed in the Attorney-General’s Department’s Privacy Act Review Report (Report) in February 2023. Draft legislation is expected in coming months.

29 August 2024

Can the data centre goldrush go green? Malaysia’s Johor shows we can move fast, but more is needed

Johor sits at the southern tip of Malaysia, minutes away from neighbouring Singapore. Lesser known than the nation’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, and less developed than its most populous state of Selangor, Johor – and its capital Johor Bahru – are rapidly rising in prominence.

29 August 2024

Rebooting the system – the Government announces its plans for the Consumer Data Right

The Government has outlined its plans for the Consumer Data Right (CDR) ecosystem, focusing in particular on reducing the costs of compliance for industry participants, lowering the barriers to adoption for consumers and increasing uptake of the CDR in the sectors in which the CDR is already active.

26 August 2024

Risks of Gen AI: the black box problem

Recent advances in the capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) systems have led many organisations to begin to explore new use cases and new AI technologies.

21 August 2024

Financing Space Assets: 6 Things You Should Know

Financing space assets has many of the hallmarks of financing traditional aircraft and related assets. However, it does operate in its own unique environment, with its own significant opportunities and pitfalls.

05 August 2024

Risk of GenAI - Probing the privacy pitfalls

The Australian public is nervous about AI and has low trust that companies using AI will protect their personal data.

01 August 2024

Risks of Gen AI

Getting lost in the changing landscape of AI regulatory requirements?

24 July 2024

Data Wars - Part I: Tortious invasions of privacy

The Australian Government has confirmed its commitment to introduce a new direct right of action for breaches of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Act) or the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), and a statutory tort for serious invasions of privacy.

12 July 2024

Australian SMS Sender ID Registry to be established

Legislation establishing a new SMS Sender ID Registry (Register) has been introduced by the Australian government. The Register is intended to record entities that send messages by SMS to Australian phone numbers using alphanumeric sender identification (alpha tags). Whether registration will be mandatory or voluntary has not yet been determined but, as there is support for it to be made mandatory, this is an important development to watch for entities that use SMS or MMS to communicate with customers.

08 July 2024

Risks of Gen AI: accuracy and reliability

The number of organisations adopting AI in some form has surged over the past year.

03 July 2024

Consumer Energy Resources: data and privacy

Welcome back to our 5-part series exploring the emerging opportunities and challenges associated with the uptake of CER in Australia from a tech law perspective, with a focus on privacy and data, AI and automation, cyber security and contracting to enable the transition to CER.

20 June 2024

Risks of Gen AI - Safeguarding intellectual property in the AI era

The rise of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) brings with it a range of fundamental copyright issues that profoundly impacts the creative industries.

12 June 2024

Navigating regulatory concerns in data collection and sharing

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) recently published a report (Report) about businesses that collect, sell and/or share users’ personal information for purposes such as market segmentation, risk management and property data analysis.

07 June 2024

Risks of Gen AI – Deepfakes to disinformation: esafety and authenticity

These risks derive from generative AI (GenAI) - and they are more dangerous and damaging than the long-known risks from traditional AI. GenAI can make realistic content fast and in large amounts.

31 May 2024

Risks of Gen AI - Energy and ESG

The vast majority of AI systems are trained and deployed on power-hungry servers housed in large data centres that use enormous amounts of electricity and water, amplifying the effects of climate change that are already being felt around the world.

23 May 2024

ASX provides welcome cyber breach disclosure guidance – update to Guidance Note 8

Following recent high profile cyber breaches, ASX has included a new data breach worked example in its updated Guidance Note 8 (effective 27 May 2024).

20 May 2024

Is there an implied right to sublicense software?

You have entered into a licence agreement with a software provider to use a brand-new contract automation tool for your business.

17 May 2024

What is the Ipso Facto rule?

You are in the midst of negotiations with a supplier for some business critical software. The supplier isn’t one of the bigger players in the market but they offer a market leading software product for a specific function in your business.

07 May 2024

Tech Reg Revolution: Transforming tomorrow's economy

Navigate the dynamic tech landscape and stay ahead of developments with KWM’s technology regulatory tracker.

30 April 2024

Navigating the Legal Ethics of Generative AI

Generative AI is much more than just ChatGPT. Broadly speaking, generative AI refers to AI products that can be used to produce new content (such as text, images and video) as opposed to other tasks like classification or data analysis.

24 April 2024

ASIC v Finder Wallet: the meaning for markets beyond crypto

On 14 March 2024, the Federal Court found that Finder Wallet Pty Ltd (Finder Wallet) did not contravene financial services regulatory obligations under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act) in making its “Finder Earn” digital asset product available.

05 April 2024

Representative complaints under the Australian Privacy Act – recent developments

Data breach litigation in Australia is a relatively new occurrence. The courts have recently decided that a multiplicity of court cases and administrative investigations into the same incident may run in parallel.

20 March 2024

SOCI roadmap – where are we at now, and what’s coming up next?

Responsible entities of critical infrastructure assets who are subject to the Security of Critical Infrastructure (Critical infrastructure risk management program) Rules (LIN 23/006) 2023 (Rules) must comply with a designated cyber security framework (or an equivalent framework) by 18 August 2024.

15 March 2024

Act on your suspicions: Key lessons from the OAIC’s latest Notifiable Data Breaches Report

Twice a year the OAIC produces a report about the operation of the notifiable data breaches (NDB) scheme under the Privacy Act.

27 February 2024

Block learner: key lessons from the Federal Court’s first crypto enforcement judgment

On 9 February 2024, the Federal Court handed down its judgment in Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Web3 Ventures Pty Ltd [2024] FCA 64 (ASIC v Web3 Ventures).

26 February 2024

Strengthening Australia’s critical infrastructure against cyber risks: Consultation on legislative reforms close 1 March 2024

The Security of Critical Infrastructure Act (SOCI Act) is again being expanded, this time as part of the Australian Government’s 2023-2030 Cyber Security Strategy.

21 February 2024

Inventing inventors? Generative AI & patents

Generative AI has ushered in a new era of innovation and creativity. While much of the discussion has

12 February 2024

Australian Government Interim Response on the regulation of AI: inching towards Safe and Responsible AI

On 17 January 2024, the Australian Government released its Interim Response to the 2023 “Safe and Responsible AI in Australia” consultation.

19 January 2024

Consumer Energy Resources: A tech enabled transformation

The way that energy is generated, distributed and consumed in Australia is changing and technology is a key enabler of this change.

15 December 2023

Securing Australia’s digital future: unpacking the 2023-30 Cyber Security Strategy

The Government’s 2023-2030 Cyber Security Strategy aims to make Australia the most cyber secure nation and a global leader in cyber security by 2030

05 December 2023

Space: from renewables to remote access, how the final frontier is solving Earth's problems

Space exploration and activities are helping to solve critical issues for our planet. Key among them are innovative technologies accelerating the transition to a net zero economy and closing the digital divide by bringing internet access to remote regions.

04 December 2023

Lessons for organisations and boards in the wake of ASIC’s November 2023 cyber pulse survey

Regulated organisations have been warned to address significant gaps in their cyber security and resilience following ASIC’s latest cyber pulse survey.

29 November 2023

An update on Artificial Intelligence: A US Executive Order, a UK Summit and a plethora of letters, codes and resolutions

Recent developments in the field of artificial intelligence have been staggering. Perhaps the only thing in human history that has experienced greater growth is the number of AI-related summits, statements, letters, declarations and regulations - resulting in a tech lawyer’s version of the “productivity paradox”.

15 November 2023

Australian privacy regulator sues in data breach case

On 3 November 2023, the Australian Information Commissioner filed proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia against Australian Clinical Labs Limited seeking a civil penalty (fine) in connection with the company’s response to a data breach that occurred in February 2022.

13 November 2023

Digital Future Summit 2023 - Key insights from the conversations

Across two weeks of talks with federal government ministers, regulators, industry leaders and of course our own experts, an overarching theme emerged: the rapidly transforming digital economy brings opportunities.

09 November 2023

Spam Act fine for social media links

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has recently fined Ticketek Pty Ltd $515,040 for breaches of the Spam Act 2003 (Cth).

01 November 2023

Talk is cheap: rural coverage not so

Currently, Telstra as the statutory universal service provider is required to supply fixed voice services and payphones to people nationally on reasonable request and nbn is the default wholesale provider of broadband services nationally under the Statutory Infrastructure Provider (SIP) regime. The Government has signalled that it will take a conservative approach to USO reform. The Government will need solid evidence that alternative technologies (i.e. something other than fixed lines) can deliver an acceptable level of service to make them suitable substitutes before it makes changes to the USO.

31 October 2023

Significant new powers given to the RBA and Treasurer to regulate payment systems

The PSRA gives the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) the power to designate payment systems and, in respect of those designated systems, impose access regimes, make standards, arbitrate disputes and give directions to participants. The RBA has used these powers to impose standards in relation to interchange fees, merchant surcharges and has established access regimes in relation to Visa and Mastercard.

27 October 2023

5 key considerations to think about when investing in Artificial Intelligence

As organisations increasingly adopt a diverse range of artificial intelligence (AI) products for various purposes, the need to understand, highlight and mitigate risks inherent in the development, deployment and use of AI systems is becoming extremely important. In this article, we have summarised 5 key considerations for investors to consider when investing in AI systems.

12 October 2023

Funding winter – fixing the damaging valuation gap in APAC’s ailing Fintech companies

Amid a climate of high interest rates and other macroeconomic challenges, are APAC’s Fintech companies really unable to attract new investors and capital?

12 October 2023

Preparing for the unpreparable: what can Non-Bank Lenders do to manage the risk of a cyber security incident?

In light of recent high profile cyber-security breaches in the financial services sector, how to reduce the risk of a cyber security incident occurring and how best to mitigate the impact of an incident if one does occur is at the forefront of the minds of boards and executive teams of financial institutions across the country.

09 October 2023

Crypto Regulatory Resources

The digital asset sector moves at breakneck speed, making it important to follow all key regulatory, market and industry updates as they occur.

28 September 2023

Inching forwards: Government responds to Privacy Act Review Report

TL;DR The Government has today released its long-awaited response to the proposals made in the Attorney General’s Privacy Act Review Report.

28 September 2023

The first steps to an economy-wide digital identity

The government has published an exposure draft of legislation for an economy-wide digital identity system.

28 September 2023

Federal Government seeks to legislate document and face-matching verification services

The Government has introduced Bills to Parliament that would formalise the Government’s ability to provide three kinds of identity verification: a document verification service, an identity verification service and a driver licence facial verification service.

15 September 2023

Lessons from where you don’t want to be: Analysing the OAIC’s latest report on notifiable data breaches

The OAIC’s latest report on the Privacy Act’s notifiable data breach scheme reveals a declining number of notifications.

06 September 2023

KWM Submission - Discussion Paper on Safe and Responsible AI in Australia

King & Wood Mallesons recently had the opportunity to provide feedback on the “Safe and responsible AI in Australia: Discussion Paper” (Discussion Paper).

01 September 2023

US District Court knocks back new bid for AI Copyright Authorship

On Friday 18 August 2023, a United States District Court granted a Motion for Summary Judgment, affirming the decision of the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) to deny Dr Stephen Thaler copyright protection for an artwork that was generated entirely by artificial intelligence (AI).

30 August 2023

Breaking down the barriers - operational enhancements set to better facilitate participation in the CDR

New changes to the CDR Rules will have a significant impact on the CDR regime, particularly to reduce barriers to participation in the CDR regime, better facilitate participation by CDR business consumers and introduce other operational enhancements.

14 August 2023

APRA has finalised CPS 230: The clock is ticking for regulated entities to comply with new requirements

On 17 July 2023, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) released the long awaited final Prudential Standard CPS 230 Operational Risk Management (CPS 230) following extensive industry consultation. CPS 230 will replace the current APRA Prudential Standards for Outsourcing (CPS 231 / SPS 231 / HPS 231) and Business Continuity Planning (CPS 232 / SPS 232) so that CPS 230 will become the core standard for APRA-regulated entities when outsourcing services and managing other operational risk (including business continuity).

03 August 2023

New Zealand Consumer Data Right

New Zealand are in the process of developing a consumer data right (NZ CDR) regime. The recently released Customer and Product Data Bill confirms that the proposed NZ CDR Regime will be broadly similar to the Australian consumer data regime. Notably, it will be following the same approach as Australia in rolling out to the banking industry first. Practically, this likely means that organisations who operate in both Australia and NZ should be able to leverage learnings from the Australian CDR in the NZ context.

25 July 2023

Non-bank lenders: key issues in the thin capitalisation amendment bill

We have been considering the implications for non-bank lenders of the recently released Treasury Laws Amendment (Making Multinationals Pay Their Fair Share—Integrity and Transparency) Bill 2023 (Bill). The first version of these reforms was released in the March 2023 Exposure Draft (ED).

19 July 2023

UK Supreme Court weighs in on APP scams

The UK Supreme Court in a landmark judgment (Philipp v Barclays Bank UK Plc [2023] UKSC 25) has unanimously held that a bank does not have a common law duty to customers to refrain from acting on their instructions where the bank believes the customer is the victim of an authorised push payment scam.

14 July 2023

APRA finds gaps in compliance with CPS 234

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)’s initial round of tripartite cyber assessments of regulated entities against prudential standard CPS 234 (CPS 234) has revealed significant control gaps in relation to their compliance with the requirements of CPS 234.

12 July 2023

A reminder about FSCODA following recent enforcement action by APRA

As the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has recently taken enforcement action against an Australian authorised deposit-taking institution (ADI) under the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001 (“FSCODA”) , we thought it timely to provide a refresher on the requirements of FSCODA and potential consequences of non-compliance.

11 July 2023

Australian Government releases new Data and Digital Government Strategy

The Minister for Finance, Senator the Hon Katy Gallagher, recently launched for consultation a draft Data and Digital Government Strategy: The data and digital vision for a world-leading APS to 2030 (Draft Strategy). You’re invited to make comments on the Draft Strategy by 25 July 2023.

07 July 2023

Hong Kong’s new financial crime tool

Fraud is one of the thorniest problems for banks and their customers globally, with billions of dollars of leakage to opportunists, criminal syndicates and thieves. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has recently announced Hong Kong’s newest institutional financial crime tool – FINEST. The initiative was launched in collaboration with the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) and The Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB). King & Wood Mallesons was delighted to serve as legal advisor on the project. This alert summarises the key points to know.

30 June 2023

Europe’s AI regulation gets real : what to know (and do) about the EU AI Act as it nears finalisation

More than two years ago, the European Union (EU) released the first draft of the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act). This was the first significant attempt at regulating AI on a large scale. In June, it passed a major milestone bringing it closer to finalisation. There is some way to go, but the signs are clear. Our experts share what the AI Act means for companies worldwide – and why now is the time to start thinking about risk mitigation steps.

26 June 2023

Have your say on the regulation of Artificial Intelligence in Australia: Recent Developments

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly becoming a focal point for lawmakers and regulators around the world. Like many nascent technologies, AI has the potential for both harmful as well as positive outcomes, with algorithmic biases and the generation of misleading or erroneous outputs of particular concern. Consequently, safety and the effective management of AI risk has been at the forefront of the minds of Australian regulators. While some overseas jurisdictions are already further down the path towards AI regulation, there have been three recent significant developments in

26 June 2023

Lifting our gaze: an update on the Australian space industry and satellite cyber security

The Australian space industry has cause for excitement after a joint statement issued by the Prime Minister of Australia and the President of the United States on 20 May 2023.

26 May 2023

Expanding Mainland China NFT platforms into Hong Kong – What do you need to know?

This article discusses: (a) an overview of the recent NFT landscape in Mainland China; and (b) the key issues to consider when issuing NFTs, launching an NFT platform, or providing NFT-related services in Hong Kong.

23 May 2023

It copies, right? Generative AI & copyright law

Only last September and October we published our AI Guides to AI & Copyright Infringement and Ownership of AI Generated Works.

11 May 2023

India: Navigating a Growing Data Centre Market

The Indian data centre market has attracted significant interest from foreign investors. This, in part, is due to the efforts of the Indian government to significantly improve the country’s IT infrastructure under the National Digital Transformation Programme, as well as recently-passed data localisation laws and the growth of the e-commerce and FinTech solutions sectors. In this short guide, we share our insights on the key considerations for foreign investors pursuing data centre opportunities in India, such as structuring, financing (equity and debt) and regulatory considerations. As investors, developers, contractors and operators in the digital infrastructure sector globally look to improve the sustainability of their digital infrastructure assets, demand will increase for businesses engaged in creating solutions for efficient data storage and management.

10 May 2023

KWM privacy bytes – Privacy Act Review Report individual rights

Released in February this year, the Government’s long-awaited Privacy Act Review Report (Report) contains 116 proposals for privacy reform. In this, our second article in the Privacy Bytes series, we take a closer look at the new individual rights the Report proposes to include or expand in the Privacy Act.

09 May 2023

International comparison of Cyber Security regulatory settings: KWM report commissioned by AICD

The increasing regularity of high-profile cyber incidents is a constant and costly reminder that effective cyber resilience is fundamental to realising the promised benefits of digitisation. Australia is among many countries seeking to reboot its cyber defences.

08 May 2023

Cryptocurrency is “property” under Hong Kong law: Part 1 – what are the key implications and what is the judicial position in Mainland China?

On 31 March 2023, in the landmark decision of Re Gatecoin Limited (In Liquidation) [2023] HKCFI 914 (“Gatecoin Case”), the Court of First Instance of Hong Kong has, for the first time, ruled that cryptocurrency is “property” under Hong Kong law. The Gatecoin Case is one step ahead of the Hong Kong Government’s policy statement that, in order to enhance investor protection, there is a possibility of introducing a statutory definition of cryptocurrency as property, while recognising that the unique characteristics of cryptocurrency may differ from traditional assets. In ruling that cryptocurrency is “property”, the Gatecoin Case brings Hong Kong’s jurisprudence in line with other major common law jurisdictions. Interestingly, despite Mainland Chinese regulators’ imposition of a general ban on cryptocurrency trading, the judicial position in Mainland China on the legal status of Bitcoin also broadly aligns with that in major common law jurisdictions.

08 May 2023

DABUS dismissed again! United States Supreme Court declines to consider whether AI can be an inventor

This decision means that the lower court’s ruling holds — US patents can only be issued to human inventors and that Dr Thaler’s AI system (Device for the Autonomous Bootstrapping of Unified Sentience or DABUS) could not be considered the legal creator of two inventions that Dr Thaler said it generated.

27 April 2023

Developments in the regulation of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) has captured the attention of the world over the last 12 months. From AI chatbots to AI-generated art and inventions, AI has the potential to radically transform our economy, our society, and humanity.

19 April 2023

ChatGPT and the Importance of AI Governance

ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI, has become the fastest growing consumer product in history, reaching 100 million monthly active users within a mere 2 months of its launch. It has caused shockwaves across the education, media and marketing industries and has stoked fears of broader job losses amongst white collar workers.

14 April 2023

KWM Privacy Bytes - Privacy Act Review Report: Collecting and using of personal information

The Government’s long-awaited Privacy Act Review Report contains 116 proposals for reform. While not fundamentally changing the current principles based approach, these proposals will require a step change in how Australian companies collect and use personal information.

30 March 2023

Investing in Japanese data centres: a guide

Data centres – and in turn investments relating to them – are increasing worldwide. Japan is home to the third largest number of data centres, after the US and China. The regulatory settings in Japan may make it a more attractive destination for data centre investments in the future. In this insight, we look at laws and regulations relating to data centres in Japan, as well as: - Why it might become a favoured investment destination - Customer contracting considerations - Investment structuring - ESG considerations (in particular, renewable energy), and - Considerations when selecting the location of a DC. Our experts are closely watching this space, both in Japan and across Asia.

22 March 2023

How technology is transforming green finance: blockchain carbon credit bonds break new ground

Green bonds have surged in use over the past two years, but the future growth and effectiveness of the market is threatened by difficulties confirming the credit quality of an issuer and ensuring proceeds are used to fund green projects.

21 March 2023

Merger reform update - ACCC continues calls for mandatory regime

While the ACCC continues to believe that Australia’s current merger laws aren’t fit for purpose, it appears to have refined its thinking on aspects of the proposals first unveiled in August 2021, following comments made by ACCC Commissioner Stephen Ridgeway during a keynote discussion at the Mergermarket M&A Forum Australia today.

16 March 2023

Not by the same token - Treasury releases its Token Mapping consultation

This month, the Australian Treasury released the Token Mapping consultation paper (“Paper”), a “foundational step” for establishing a framework for reform for the crypto sector.

01 March 2023

Consumer Data Right in 2023

We expect 2023 to be the CDR’s most significant year since its inception, with the anticipated introduction of important new functionality for the CDR, and its rollout to key new sectors.

24 February 2023

The risk management program rules under the SOCI Act have now come into force

The Security of Critical Infrastructure (Critical infrastructure risk management program) Rules (LIN 23/006) 2023 (CIRMP Rules) have now been made and came into force with effect from 17 February 2023.

20 February 2023

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Chambers ranking

  • TMT: IT & Telecommunications, Band 1 - Chambers 2023
  • FinTech Legal, Band 1 - Chambers 2023

HOW WE HELP OUR CLIENTS

KWM advises InDebted on $60 million Series C capital raising

King and Wood Mallesons (KWM) is pleased to have acted for debt collection specialist InDebted on its Series C Capital Raising.

26 September 2024

KWM advises on $24BN Airtrunk acquisition, Australia's biggest M&A deal for 2024 so far

King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) is proud to have worked with the world’s largest alternative asset manager, Blackstone, on its acquisition of leading data centre provider, AirTrunk.

05 September 2024

KWM advises Data Zoo on investment by Ellerston Capital

King and Wood Mallesons (KWM) has advised leading provider of digital identification verification Data Zoo Holdings Pty Ltd (Data Zoo) on a major investment by Ellerston Capital.

14 May 2024

KWM assists Envato on its US$245 million sale to Shutterstock, signalling continued strength in quality tech M&A

King & Wood Mallesons’ is pleased to have acted for Australian digital creative company Envato on its sale to US-based global creative platform Shutterstock for US$245 million working closely with Goodwin, Envato’s US and UK counsel.

07 May 2024

KWM advises TASK Group on its proposed A$310 million acquisition by PAR Technology

King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) is pleased to be advising TASK Group Holdings Limited (ASX:TSK) (TASK) which is being acquired by PAR Technology Corporation (NYSE:PAR) (PAR) by way of a scheme of arrangement.

12 March 2024

KWM advises Symbio on acquisition by Aussie Broadband

King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has advised ASX-listed global telecommunications service provider Symbio Holdings Limited on completion of its acquisition by Aussie Broadband Limited (ABB) by scheme of arrangement, resulting in a merged entity with a market capitalisation of ~AUD 1.3 billion.

05 March 2024

KWM advises AirTrunk in respect of its $4.6b sustainability-linked loan financing

King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) advised Asia-Pacific & Japan (APJ) hyperscale data centre operator, AirTrunk, in obtaining multi-currency, sustainability-linked debt financing of $4.6 billion (AUD equivalent).

24 August 2023

KWM advises Silicon Quantum Computing on $50.4m Series A capital raise

King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has advised Silicon Quantum Computing (SQC) on its $50.4m Series A capital raising, a significant achievement on their quest to create the world’s first logical qubit in silicon.

04 August 2023

KWM advises Vector Limited on the sale of 50% interest in Vector Metering

King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has advised Vector Limited (Vector) on the 50% sale of its New Zealand and Australian metering business, Vector Metering, to investment vehicles managed and advised by Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC). The sale transaction valued Vector Metering at an enterprise value of NZ$2.5b and resulted in gross proceeds to Vector of NZ$1.7b.

02 August 2023

KWM advises Suzhou Basecare Medical Corporation Limited on its US$40M acquisition of Biomedx

King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has advised Hong Kong stock exchange listed Suzhou Basecare Medical Corporation Limited (Suzhou Basecare Medical) on its acquisition of BMX Holdco (Biomedx), a Singapore based business specialising in IVF incubator and culture media.

23 May 2023

KWM works with Telstra on its corporate restructure and the listing of Telstra Group Limited on ASX

King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) is pleased to have worked as Telstra’s lead counsel on Telstra’s strategic corporate restructure and congratulates Telstra on having implemented the first component of the restructure.

28 November 2022

KWM advises FTI consulting on vital energy infrastructure asset

King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) is extremely proud to have advised Vaughan Strawbridge, Paul Harlond, Chris Hill and Kathryn Evans of FTI Consulting Australia as receivers and managers on all aspects of the receivership of the Basslink Group of Companies. Basslink owns and operates the interconnector cable that links Tasmania with the mainland. It is a vital piece of Australian electricity infrastructure.

24 October 2022

KWM helps Endeavour Group focus on future with successful demerger

King & Wood Mallesons is delighted to have assisted the newly ASX-listed Endeavour Group in its demerger from the Woolworths Group, reflecting their vision to create two simpler, more focused independent businesses that are better equipped for future growth.

07 July 2021

KWM helps Telstra improve mobile network quality, negotiating Australian-first spectrum defragmentation

Mobile network users in many Australian capital cities are enjoying a 10 – 20 percent increase in 4G speed, thanks to an Australian-first spectrum re-stack between Telstra and TPG.

06 July 2021

KWM Advises On Sale Of TEG To Silver Lake

King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has acted for funds advised by Affinity Equity Partners (S) Pte Ltd and its affiliates (and the other vendor shareholders) on the sale of Australian live events and ticketing business, TEG.

04 October 2019

KWM Assists Telstra To Achieve T22 Strategy Via Strategic Sell Down

King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has acted for Telstra Corporation (Telstra) on its $700 million sale of 49 per cent of a new unlisted property trust to a consortium led by Charter Hall.

29 August 2019

KWM assists Queensland Museum with NASA exhibition landing

King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has advised Queensland Museum to ensure the successful arrival of its latest and largest ever exhibition, NASA – A Human Adventure.

10 May 2019

KWM advises on MST sale

King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) advised the shareholders of MST Global Holdings Pty Ltd (MST), including major shareholder Macquarie Capital, on its sale to Odyssey Private Equity. Following a competitive sale process, Odyssey is set to take a controlling stake in MST - which is a leader in providing unified communications, data infrastructure, real-time tracking and asset management solutions for harsh and mobile industrial environments. The KWM cross-practice team was led by Partners Lee Horan (M&A), Darren McClafferty (Tax) and Dale Rayner (B&F), supported by Special Counsel Jason Barnes, Senior Associates Luke Mulcahy and Sarah Hickey, and Solicitor Harsha Garikapati. Commenting on the transaction, Lee Horan said; "We are proud to have advised MST shareholders, in particular long-term client Macquarie Capital, on this strategic sale following an extensive sale process which required the firm's extensive cross-practice capabilities."

21 June 2018

KWM advises Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan on first Australian corporate cov-lite Term Loan B

King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) advised joint lead arrangers and bookrunners, Goldman Sachs (as left lead) and JPMorgan on a landmark A$350 million Term Loan B facility for leading tech companies LEAP Legal Software Pty Ltd (LEAP) and InfoTrack Group Pty Limited (InfoTrack), under the holding company, Australian Technology Innovators. InfoTrack is considered Australia's leading regulated data provider for property, company and personal information, while LEAP provides practice management software for small and medium-sized law firms. The transaction is the first Australian law standalone covenant-lite AUD Term Loan B facility for an Australian corporate – differentiating it from other transactions where the AUD Term Loan B tranche was part of a wider transaction with USD tranches or with a US parent. Banking Partner, Yuen-Yee Cho led the KWM team, supported by Senior Associate Jason Byrne and Solicitors Zoe Anderson, Karen Chen and Jing Wang from Banking. Specialist IT/IP assistance was provided by Partner Patrick Gunning and Senior Associates Nick Sinclair and Melissa Miller. Commenting on the deal, Yuen-Yee Cho said; "KWM are delighted at the opportunity to work on this significant transaction in the developing A$-denominated covenant lite loan market. The product connects domestic and international institutional debt investors with Australian corporates, providing them with a wider choice of financing options." KWM also acted on other recent AUD covenant-lite Term Loan B financings including Cimic/Apollo's Ventia Group (previously known as Leighton Services), Baring Private Equity's SAI Global and Bain Capital's Camp Australia.

18 September 2017

KWM advises on Temenos’ proposed acquisition of fintech provider Rubik

King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) is acting for market leading banking and finance software specialist, Temenos Group AG on its proposal to acquire 100% of Rubik Financial Limited's shares via a scheme of arrangement.

17 February 2017

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