From Smart Technologies to Smart Consumer Laws: Comparative Perspectives from Germany and the United Kingdom

从智能技术到智能消费者法：德国和英国的比较视角

• 批准号: AH/W010518/1
• 负责人: Guido Noto La Diega
• 金额: $ 36.21万
• 依托单位: University of Stirling
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FW010518%2F1
• 关键词: Smart; Technologies; Consumer; Laws; Comparative

This project aims at mapping emerging consumer issues in the Internet of Things (IoT), critically assessing the extent to which consumers laws in Germany and the United Kingdom address these issues, scoping the potential for mutual learning between the two legal systems, and recommending changes to the current regulatory response. In doing so, the project will explore how consumers of smart devices can be empowered through law reform and legal design. In this perspective, the research will address four overarching themes:(1) Things as a Service: The emergence of the IoT challenges the traditional goods-services dichotomy on which consumer laws are built. Are existing consumer laws fit for purpose in a socio-technical setting increasingly shaped by long-term contracts and new data-driven monetization models?(2) Regulation 'by Bricking' and the Contractual Quagmire: In the IoT, smart products are persistently linked to sellers or suppliers who can remotely and automatically discontinue functionalities, downgrade the device, and even 'brick' it. An additional layer of complexity is added due to the growing number of actors involved in complex IoT systems (e.g. connected cars). How should these new types of techno-legal private ordering be regulated?(3) Liability in the Cloud of Things: Alongside the complexity of the contractual relations in IoT systems, the emergence of smart services that depend on the automated interplay of multiple connected objects raises pressing issues of product liability. To what extent do existing liability rules provide adequate solutions for IoT-enabled injuries?(4) Internet of Personalized Things: Smart objects can be used to profile and target consumers with unparalleled precision and efficacy. In this perspective, IoT-enabled profiling allows for personalization of products, prices or terms of service. At the same time, IoT applications could enable a more targeted use of consumer protection technologies. What does IoT-enabled personalization mean for the concept of the 'average consumer'? These themes will be comparatively examined in relation to three use cases: smart home, wearables, and connected cars.This project is innovative both in terms of filling a gap in the existing literature and in terms of methods. Indeed, its methodology combines doctrinal, comparative, and empirical methods. We believe that a collaboration between Germany-based and UK-based in this field is of the utmost importance because both countries are leading the way in the regulation of the IoT and both their approaches, although significantly different, constitute best practices that allow for cross-fertilization. In the time of Brexit, which threatens to leave our countries adrift, it has never been more important to nurture a culture of shared values and to converge in making sure that our consumer laws become as smart as the technologies that are shaping our lives like never before.

该项目旨在绘制物联网（IoT）中新出现的消费者问题，严格评估德国和英国消费者法律解决这些问题的程度，确定两个法律的系统之间相互学习的潜力，并建议对当前监管对策进行修改。在此过程中，该项目将探索如何通过法律改革和法律的设计赋予智能设备的消费者权力。从这个角度来看，这项研究将解决四个首要主题：（1）物联网作为一种服务：物联网的出现挑战了消费者法律所建立的传统商品-服务二分法。现有的消费者法律是否适合社会技术环境中的目的，这些环境越来越受到长期合同和新的数据驱动的货币化模式的影响？(2)“砖头式”监管和合同困境：在物联网中，智能产品始终与销售商或供应商联系在一起，这些销售商或供应商可以远程自动中断功能，降级设备，甚至“砖头式”设备。由于复杂物联网系统（例如联网汽车）中涉及的参与者越来越多，因此增加了额外的复杂性。这些新型的技术法律私人秩序应该如何规范？(3)物联网中的责任：除了物联网系统中合同关系的复杂性之外，依赖于多个连接对象自动交互的智能服务的出现也引发了产品责任的紧迫问题。现有的责任规则在多大程度上为物联网带来的伤害提供了充分的解决方案？(4)个性化物联网：智能对象可用于以无与伦比的精度和效率来描述和定位消费者。从这个角度来看，支持物联网的分析允许产品、价格或服务条款的个性化。与此同时，物联网应用可以更有针对性地使用消费者保护技术。物联网支持的个性化对“普通消费者”的概念意味着什么？这些主题将在智能家居、可穿戴设备和联网汽车三个用例中进行比较研究。该项目在填补现有文献空白和方法方面都具有创新性。事实上，它的方法结合了理论，比较和经验的方法。我们认为，德国和英国在这一领域的合作至关重要，因为这两个国家在物联网监管方面都处于领先地位，尽管它们的方法有很大的不同，但它们都是允许交叉施肥的最佳实践。在英国退欧的时候，这可能会让我们的国家随波逐流，培养一种共同价值观的文化，并确保我们的消费者法律变得像前所未有的塑造我们生活的技术一样智能，这一点从未如此重要。

项目成果

Giving Surveillance Capitalism a Makeover: Wearable Technology in the Fashion Industry and the Challenges for Privacy and Data Protection Law

改造监控资本主义：时尚行业的可穿戴技术以及隐私和数据保护法的挑战

• DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.4612570
• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: SSRN Electronic Journal
• 作者: Clubbs Coldron B