- Funder: (Arts and Humanities Research Council) AHRC
- Law School Researcher: Prof Guido Noto La Diega
Law in a technological societyFrom smart technologies to smart consumer laws
The rapidly growing ‘Internet of Things’ – a network of connected objects such as cars, wearables, smart speakers, thermostats, and other household appliances – poses a range of issues for consumer laws that were drafted before hyperconnectivity became commonplace. Professor Guido Noto La Diega is part of a team identifying emerging consumer issues in the UK and Germany related to smart technology, assessing how their consumer laws cover these issues.
The research considers four key themes, across three use cases – smart home, wearables and connected cars:
The research explores whether existing consumer laws are fit for purpose in today’s socio-technical setting, increasingly shaped by long-term contracts and data-drive monetisation models.
Smart products are often linked to sellers or suppliers who can remotely and automatically discontinue functionalities and downgrade or ‘brick’ a device, meaning that products become obsolete because tech companies no longer provide upgrades and fixes for older models.
The automated interaction between multiple connected devices raises pressing issues around product liability. The study will consider whether existing liability rules provide protection for those using smart technology.
Smart technology empowers tech companies to enhance their profiling and targeting of consumers with precision and efficacy, resulting in the personalisation of products, prices and/or terms of service. The team will consider what personalisation of this kind means for the concept of the ‘average customer’.