Australia’s Community Safety and Legal Affairs Committee concluded that the proposed Queensland Community Safety Bill 2024 can breach the state’s human rights law by not deeming imprisonment as a last resort to impose criminal penalties on youth offenders. Currently, Youth Justice Principle 18, contained in Schedule 1 of the Youth Justice Act, states a child [...]

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Tuesday a $1.4 billion settlement with Meta Platforms Inc. over the company’s unauthorized collection and use of biometric data from millions of Texans. This settlement is the largest ever obtained by a single state and marks the first settlement under Texas’s Capture the Use of Biometric Identifier Act [...]

A Thailand court imposed Thursday an additional four-year imprisonment on an activist and human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa for defaming the Thai royal family and violating the Computer Crime Act through two social media posts made between January and April 2021. The court found Arnon guilty of using Facebook in early 2021 to disseminate false [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International, and FairSquare called Wednesday for the immediate release and compensation of Abdullah Ibhais, a former media manager for Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, following a determination by a UN Body that his 2019 detention was arbitrary and linked to his criticism of migrant worker conditions on World [...]

Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) announced on Friday that Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta Platforms had been fined $220 million for discriminatory practices affecting Nigerian data and consumers. The final order also mandates that Meta must now comply with Nigerian laws, cease exploiting Nigerian consumers, and refrain from future conduct that [...]

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) commenced an informal review on Friday of a proposed network and spectrum sharing arrangement between telecommunication companies Optus Mobile Pty Ltd. (Optus) and TPG Telecom Limited (TPG). The commission cited the legal test under Section 50 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), which prohibits acquisitions likely [...]

Japan’s Hiroshima High Court approved on Wednesday the gender change of a transgender woman who did not undergo the legally required gender confirmation surgery. While the transgender woman was registered as a male on the family registry, she identified herself as a female. She faced legal challenges as Japanese law required individuals to meet certain [...]

South Korea’s Busan District Court sentenced a man to 15 years in prison on Friday for attempting to murder Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung and for violating the Public Official Election Act, according to reports from local media. The court, presided over by Judge Kim Yong-gyun, highlighted the severity of the crime, describing it as [...]

Australia Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers approved ANZ’s $4.9 billion takeover of Suncorp’s banking division on Friday. The approval overturned the national consumer watchdog’s previous decision due to competition concerns. Introduced in 2022, the proposal sought to integrate Suncorp’s banking operations into ANZ’s portfolio, allowing Suncorp to focus on its insurance business. Approving the acquisition, Chalmers [...]

Indonesia’s antitrust agency announced Wednesday that e-commerce giant Shopee and its courier service, Shopee Express, will make adjustments to its courier service practices in Indonesia after admitting to violating Indonesian competition laws. The Komisi Pengawas Persaingan Usaha (KPPU), also known as the Indonesia Competition Commission, found that Shopee violated anti-competition rules by prioritizing its own [...]