Clouds of Things. Data protection and consumer law at the intersection of cloud computing and the Internet of Things in the United Kingdom

The article critically analyses the Internet of Things (IoT) and its intersection with cloud computing, the so-called Clouds of Things (CoT). ‘Things’ are understood as any physical entity capable of connectivity that has a direct interface to the physical world (i.e. a sensing and/or actuating capability). From another perspective (especially product liability), Things can be seen as an inextricable mixture of hardware, software, and services. Alongside a clarification of the essentials, the six factors of the CoT complexity are described and light is shed on the regulatory options (regulation, co-regulation, self-regulation, holistic approach, fragmentation). Focussing on the British legal systems, the article reports on the state of the art of CoT deployment in the United Kingdom and deals with some of the main technical and legal issues emerging from CoT. Particularly, the core will be data protection, privacy, and consumer law. Indeed, these themes are considered the most relevant by the regulators. By mastering the relevant legal issues and following the example of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Korea will be able to unleash its extraordinary potential as to the IoT, thus retaining its position as the smartest country in the world

Y2K …Who Cares? We Have Bigger Problems: Choice of Law in Electronic Contracts

Every day it becomes more certain that the Internet will take its place alongside the other great transformational technologies that first challenged, and then fundamentally changed, the way things are done in the world

The alignment of the Saudi legal system with the international rules of electronic commerce

This thesis deals with fundamental questions of compatibility andadaptation in the regulation of electronic commerce as it impacts on the normsand precepts of Islamic law. It finds that in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, theresponse of the religious and civil authorities to the realignment of its laws ofcontract, in order to encompass the innovations and changes implicit in theelectronic environment, have been inhibited by misgivings about the nature ofthe electronic environment itself and by fears that some of the protectiveaspects of traditional contract formation will be lost.Based upon a detailed comparison of the various stages and components ofthe electronic and traditional contract, the thesis finds that the principlesunderlying Islamic law are not violated or substantively threatened by the newforms. It is shown that laws and treaties, created at an international level ofscrutiny and discussion, are now broadly in place and accepted by most of the‘developed’ world, with necessary allowance being made for future innovationand change.The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, it is recommended, can only make progressin this field by a policy of greater engagement, both in respect of the nature ofthe electronic contract itself, and also with the arbiters of compromise in bodiessuch as the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation. It finds this progress to be essential to the health and well-being of Saudi society as awhole, and it suggests that any misgivings currently felt by the nation’slegislators are based more on misapprehension than on objective realities

Technology and regulation 2021

Technology and Regulation (TechReg) is an international journal of law, technology and society, with an interdisciplinary identity. TechReg provides an online platform for disseminating original research on the legal and regulatory challenges posed by existing and emerging technologies (and their applications) including, but by no means limited to, the Internet and digital technology, artificial intelligence and machine learning, robotics, neurotechnology, nanotechnology, biotechnology, energy and climate change technology, and health and food technology. This book contains Volume 3 (2021) of the journal

Legal Design Perspectives : Theoretical and Practical Insights from the Field

This publication and its release in gold open access has been made possible thanks to the support of the Erasmus+ Jean Monnet Module grant 599987-EPP-1-2018-1-BE-EPPJMO-MODULE for the course “European IT Law by Design”. The European Commission’s support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.Publisher PD