Over 55% of the Australian population now uses Facebook for business, entertainment, personal communication and sharing with friends and family, with the total number of Facebook users globally exceeding one billion. However, as with any communications medium, as users are learning to adapt and evolve in the online environment they inevitably encounter legal problems, including defamation, intellectual property infringement, privacy breaches and employment law issues. Further, domestic regulators have to adjust to a ubiquitous communications platform which is privately owned and hosted offshore, with little domestic legal presence and accountability.
This seminar will provide valuable insights into recent issues arising from the use (and misuse) of social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, and explore the legal context and implications of these scenarios from a practical legal approach. It will also consider the regulatory context within which these private companies operate and the potential consequences for government and end users, including individuals and businesses. This seminar is an opportunity for all those who encounter social media as users, employers and practitioners to deepen their understanding of the legal and ethical complexities that exist in the online world.
Presenters: Peter Campbell and Melissa de Zwart
Chair: Lisa Jarrett, Partner, Kelly & Co.
Peter Campbell is a partner of Kelly & Co Lawyers with a national reputation in Media, Intellectual Property and Competition and Consumer Law. He was recently named as the pre-eminent Technology, Media and Telecommunications lawyer in SA and the pre-eminent IP lawyer in SA in the 2012 Doyle’s Guide. He advises extensively on legal and ethical issues arising from use of social media. He is the Deputy Chair of the Law Council of Australia’s Media & Communications Committee and a member of the Law Council’s Intellectual Property Committee, Competition and Consumer Law Committee and Privacy Committee.
Dr Melissa de Zwart is an Associate Professor in the Adelaide Law School and a member of the Commonwealth Government’s Classifications Review Board. She has published widely on legal issues arising from the digital environment, particularly in the context of copyright and matters affecting freedom of communication. Prior to joining academia, she was Legal Manager at CSIRO, advising on matters of technology and commercialisation. She has provided advice to APEC, the OECD, ENISA and the UK Government on matters arising from electronic commerce, security and privacy in massive multiplayer online games, virtual worlds and other online contractual communities. Her most recent publications include papers looking at copyright and contract in virtual worlds, griefing and protest in online communities, WikiLeaks and legal regulation of social networks.
Date: 28 March 2013
Time: 7.30 am -8.40 am
Breakfast: A buffet continental breakfast will be served, accompanied by tea, coffee and juice
Venue: National Wine Centre (Cnr North Tce and Hackney Road)
Cost: $130 – Standard ticket
$110 – Alumni ticket
*$75 – Young lawyers discount ticket
*(for those who have been admitted for less than 3 years)
The event will attract 1 CPD point (in either legal ethics or practice management).
Further information about this CPD event and other CPD events in the Adelaide Law School Breakfast Seminar Series is available here.
Please RSVP by 26th March here.