INSIGHT

Risk e-business? Navigating the acceleration of your business online

How to manage regulatory hurdles and adapt legal strategies

There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated consumers' shift to online. Data from Australia Post indicates that there was an 80% increase in online shopping between March and May 2020 and in April 2020 alone, more than 200,000 new shoppers entered the market and purchased something online for the first time. Seasoned online shoppers also notably increased their purchasing frequency.

It has never been more critical for businesses to be able to engage and service their customers online and at scale.

From IT infrastructure considerations, and data collection to digital advertising and protecting your IP, our cross-disciplinary team explore some of the legal and regulatory considerations when creating or refreshing your digital offering.

Designed as a legal roadmap for consumer facing businesses, our guide addresses five key issues:

  1. Creating and expanding your online presence – the importance of secure and reliable IT infrastructure, understanding if existing IP protections are sufficient and the competition implications from structuring relationship with suppliers/sellers.
  2. Managing customer data - an overview of your company's obligations under the Privacy Act, Spam Act and Australian Consumer Law when dealing with your customers' data.
  3. Connecting with customers online – key consumer and privacy obligations when marketing online, including targeted marketing or online promotions considerations, as well as the risks around user-generated content and using AI to set pricing.
  4. Your workforce online – key risks in managing an agile workforce,  your safety obligations in an online or remote workplace as well as ways to protect your company's reputation from possible damage by employee social media posts.
  5. Digital transformation – the importance of putting in place frameworks that enable your business to be agile and flexible when it comes to technology upgrades in the future. 

Cross-disciplinary insight

This guide brings together insights from experts across a number of related sectors, including CompetitionIntellectual property, Technology & Outsourcing, Data & Privacy and Employment.