Routledge Research in the Law of Emerging Technologies – serie

The integration of robotic systems and artificial intelligence into healthcare settings is accelerating. As these technological developments interact socially with children, the elderly, or the disabled, they may raise concerns besides mere physical safety; concerns that include data protection, inappropriate use of emotions, invasion of privacy, autonomy suppression, decrease in human interaction, and cognitive safety. Given the novelty of these technologies and the uncertainties surrounding the impact of care automation, it is unclear how the law should respond.This book investigates the legal and regulatory implications of the growing use of personal care robots for healthcare purposes. It explores the interplay between various aspects of the law, including safety, data protection, responsibility, transparency, autonomy, and dignity; and it examines different robotic and AI systems, such as social therapy robots, physical assistant robots for rehabilitation, and wheeled passenger carriers. Highlighting specific problems and challenges in regulating complex cyber-physical systems in concrete healthcare applications, it critically assesses the adequacy of current industry standards and emerging regulatory initiatives for robots and AI. After analyzing the potential legal and ethical issues associated with personal care robots, it concludes that the primarily principle-based approach of recent law and robotics studies is too abstract to be as effective as required by the personal care context. Instead, it recommends bridging the gap between general legal principles and their applicability in concrete robotic and AI technologies with a risk-based approach using impact assessments.As the first book to compile both legal and regulatory aspects of personal care robots, this book will be a valuable addition to the literature on robotics, artificial intelligence, human–robot interaction, law, and philosophy of technology.

The growth of data-collecting goods and services, such as ehealth and mhealth apps, smart watches, mobile fitness and dieting apps, electronic skin and ingestible tech, combined with recent technological developments such as increased capacity of data storage, artificial intelligence and smart algorithms, has spawned a big data revolution that has reshaped how we understand and approach health data. Recently the COVID-19 pandemic has foregrounded a variety of data privacy issues. The collection, storage, sharing and analysis of health- related data raises major legal and ethical questions relating to privacy, data protection, profiling, discrimination, surveillance, personal autonomy and dignity.This book examines health privacy questions in light of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the general data privacy legal framework of the European Union (EU). The GDPR is a complex and evolving body of law that aims to deal with several technological and societal health data privacy problems, while safeguarding public health interests and addressing its internal gaps and uncertainties. The book answers a diverse range of questions including: What role can the GDPR play in regulating health surveillance and big (health) data analytics? Can it catch up with internet-age developments? Are the solutions to the challenges posed by big health data to be found in the law? Does the GDPR provide adequate tools and mechanisms to ensure public health objectives and the effective protection of privacy? How does the GDPR deal with data that concern children’s health and academic research? By analysing a number of diverse questions concerning big health data under the GDPR from various perspectives, this book will appeal to those interested in privacy, data protection, big data, health sciences, information technology, the GDPR, EU and human rights law.

The use of biometric identification systems is rapidly increasing across the world, owing to their potential to combat terrorism, fraud, corruption and other illegal activities. However, critics of the technology complain that the creation of an extensive central register of personal information controlled by the government will increase opportunities for the state to abuse citizens. There is also concern about the extent to which data about an individual is recorded and kept.This book reviews some of the most current and complex legal and ethical issues relating to the use of biometrics. Beginning with an overview of biometric systems, the book goes on to examine some of the theoretical underpinnings of the surveillance state, questioning whether these conceptual approaches are still relevant, particularly the integration of ubiquitous surveillance systems and devices. The book also analyses the implementation of the world’s largest biometric database, Aadhaar, in detail. Additionally, the identification of individuals at border checkpoints in the United States, Australia and the EU is explored, as well as the legal and ethical debates surrounding the use of biometrics regarding: the war on terror and the current refugee crisis; violations of international human rights law principles; and mobility and privacy rights. The book concludes by addressing the collection, use and disclosure of personal information by private-sector entities such as Axciom and Facebook, and government use of these tools to profile individuals.By examining the major legal and ethical issues surrounding the debate on this rapidly emerging technology, this book will appeal to students and scholars of law, criminology and surveillance studies, as well as law enforcement and criminal law practitioners.

Exploring potential scenarios of artificial intelligence regulation which prevent automated reality harming individual human rights or social values, this book reviews current debates surrounding AI regulation in the context of the emerging risks and accountabilities. Considering varying regulatory methodologies, it focuses mostly on EU’s regulation in light of the comprehensive policy making process taking place at the supranational level.Taking an ethics and humancentric approach towards artificial intelligence as the bedrock of future laws in this field, it analyses the relations between fundamental rights impacted by the development of artificial intelligence and ethical standards governing it. It contains a detailed and critical analysis of the EU’s Ethic Guidelines for Trustworthy AI, pointing at its practical applicability by the interested parties. Attempting to identify the most transparent and efficient regulatory tools that can assure social trust towards AI technologies, the book provides an overview of horizontal and sectoral regulatory approaches, as well as legally binding measures stemming from industries’ self-regulations and internal policies.

The growth of data-collecting goods and services, such as ehealth and mhealth apps, smart watches, mobile fitness and dieting apps, electronic skin and ingestible tech, combined with recent technological developments such as increased capacity of data storage, artificial intelligence and smart algorithms, has spawned a big data revolution that has reshaped how we understand and approach health data. Recently the COVID-19 pandemic has foregrounded a variety of data privacy issues. The collection, storage, sharing and analysis of health- related data raises major legal and ethical questions relating to privacy, data protection, profiling, discrimination, surveillance, personal autonomy and dignity.This book examines health privacy questions in light of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the general data privacy legal framework of the European Union (EU). The GDPR is a complex and evolving body of law that aims to deal with several technological and societal health data privacy problems, while safeguarding public health interests and addressing its internal gaps and uncertainties. The book answers a diverse range of questions including: What role can the GDPR play in regulating health surveillance and big (health) data analytics? Can it catch up with internet-age developments? Are the solutions to the challenges posed by big health data to be found in the law? Does the GDPR provide adequate tools and mechanisms to ensure public health objectives and the effective protection of privacy? How does the GDPR deal with data that concern children’s health and academic research? By analysing a number of diverse questions concerning big health data under the GDPR from various perspectives, this book will appeal to those interested in privacy, data protection, big data, health sciences, information technology, the GDPR, EU and human rights law.

Exploring potential scenarios of artificial intelligence regulation which prevent automated reality harming individual human rights or social values, this book reviews current debates surrounding AI regulation in the context of the emerging risks and accountabilities. Considering varying regulatory methodologies, it focuses mostly on EU’s regulation in light of the comprehensive policy making process taking place at the supranational level.Taking an ethics and humancentric approach towards artificial intelligence as the bedrock of future laws in this field, it analyses the relations between fundamental rights impacted by the development of artificial intelligence and ethical standards governing it. It contains a detailed and critical analysis of the EU’s Ethic Guidelines for Trustworthy AI, pointing at its practical applicability by the interested parties. Attempting to identify the most transparent and efficient regulatory tools that can assure social trust towards AI technologies, the book provides an overview of horizontal and sectoral regulatory approaches, as well as legally binding measures stemming from industries’ self-regulations and internal policies.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has augmented human activities and unlocked opportunities for many sectors of the economy. It is used for data management and analysis, decision making, and many other aspects. As with most rapidly advancing technologies, law is often playing a catch up role so the study of how law interacts with AI is more critical now than ever before. This book provides a detailed qualitative exploration into regulatory aspects of AI in industry.Offering a unique focus on current practice and existing trends in a wide range of industries where AI plays an increasingly important role, the work contains legal and technical analysis performed by 15 researchers and practitioners from different institutions around the world to provide an overview of how AI is being used and regulated across a wide range of sectors, including aviation, energy, government, healthcare, legal, maritime, military, music, and others. It addresses the broad range of aspects, including privacy, liability, transparency, justice, and others, from the perspective of different jurisdictions.Including a discussion of the role of AI in industry during the Covid-19 pandemic, the chapters also offer a set of recommendations for optimal regulatory interventions. Therefore, this book will be of interest to academics, students and practitioners interested in technological and regulatory aspects of AI.

This book provides a comprehensive interdisciplinary analysis of the sustainable and ethical integration of artificial intelligence (AI) within legal education, offering practical strategies for balancing innovation with ethical responsibility. Discussing the intersection of legal studies, technology and ethics, the book focuses on AI's role in reshaping professional education.With the rising demand for digital transformation in legal education and the increasing scrutiny of AI's ethical impact, this book explores the potential of AI to enhance legal learning and practice, while critically examining the challenges of data privacy, algorithmic bias and equitable access to technology. Outlining a framework for incorporating AI into the law curriculum, the book equips the readers with both cutting-edge technological skills and a deep understanding of AI’s ethical and societal implications. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including industry data and academic research, the book offers grounded, actionable guidance on implementing AI in a way that promotes inclusivity, sustainability and long-term relevance. It addresses the needs of legal education institutions, faculty and students, providing them with the tools to navigate the evolving legal landscape while maintaining ethical standards.The book will also be of interest to researchers in the fields of law, education and AI ethics.

As a social process that places great stock in its stability and predictability, law does not deal easily or well with change. In a modern world that is in a constant and rapid state of flux, law is being placed under considerable stress in its efforts to fulfill its task as a primary regulator of social and economic behaviour. This challenge is particularly acute in the realm of technology and its profound ramifications for social and economic behaviour. The innovative Techno-Age not only offers fresh ways of handling old problems, but also throws up entirely new problems; traditional ways of thinking about and responding to these old and new problems and their optimal resolution are no longer as tenable as many once thought. One such example is the burgeoning world of cryptocurrencies – this peer-to-peer digital network presents a profound challenge to the status quo of the financial services sector, to the established modes of state-backed fiat currency, and to the regulatory authority and reach of law. Taken together, these related challenges demand the urgent attention of jurists, lawyers and law reformers. It is the future and relevance of legal regulation as much as cryptocurrency that is at stake. This book proposes an approach to regulating cryptocurrency that recognises and retains its innovative and transformative potential, but also identifies and deals with some of its less appealing qualities and implications.

The Internet is not an unchartered territory. On the Internet, norms matter. They interact, regulate, are contested and legitimated by multiple actors. But are they diverse and unstructured, or are they part of a recognizable order? And if the latter, what does this order look like?This collected volume explores these key questions while providing new perspectives on the role of law in times of digitality. The book compares six different areas of law that have been particularly exposed to global digitality, namely laws regulating consumer contracts, data protection, the media, financial markets, criminal activity and intellectual property law. By comparing how these very different areas of law have evolved with regard to cross-border online situations, the book considers whether cyberlaw is little more than "the law of the horse", or whether the law of global digitality is indeed special and, if so, what its characteristics across various areas of law are. The book brings together legal academics with expertise in how law has both reacted to and shaped cross-border, global Internet communication and their contributions consider whether it is possible to identify a particular mediality of law in the digital age.Examining whether a global law of digitality has truly emerged, this book will appeal to academics, students and practitioners of law examining the future of the law of digitality as it intersects with traditional categories of law.

As a social process that places great stock in its stability and predictability, law does not deal easily or well with change. In a modern world that is in a constant and rapid state of flux, law is being placed under considerable stress in its efforts to fulfill its task as a primary regulator of social and economic behaviour. This challenge is particularly acute in the realm of technology and its profound ramifications for social and economic behaviour. The innovative Techno-Age not only offers fresh ways of handling old problems, but also throws up entirely new problems; traditional ways of thinking about and responding to these old and new problems and their optimal resolution are no longer as tenable as many once thought. One such example is the burgeoning world of cryptocurrencies – this peer-to-peer digital network presents a profound challenge to the status quo of the financial services sector, to the established modes of state-backed fiat currency, and to the regulatory authority and reach of law. Taken together, these related challenges demand the urgent attention of jurists, lawyers and law reformers. It is the future and relevance of legal regulation as much as cryptocurrency that is at stake. This book proposes an approach to regulating cryptocurrency that recognises and retains its innovative and transformative potential, but also identifies and deals with some of its less appealing qualities and implications.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has augmented human activities and unlocked opportunities for many sectors of the economy. It is used for data management and analysis, decision making, and many other aspects. As with most rapidly advancing technologies, law is often playing a catch up role so the study of how law interacts with AI is more critical now than ever before. This book provides a detailed qualitative exploration into regulatory aspects of AI in industry.Offering a unique focus on current practice and existing trends in a wide range of industries where AI plays an increasingly important role, the work contains legal and technical analysis performed by 15 researchers and practitioners from different institutions around the world to provide an overview of how AI is being used and regulated across a wide range of sectors, including aviation, energy, government, healthcare, legal, maritime, military, music, and others. It addresses the broad range of aspects, including privacy, liability, transparency, justice, and others, from the perspective of different jurisdictions.Including a discussion of the role of AI in industry during the Covid-19 pandemic, the chapters also offer a set of recommendations for optimal regulatory interventions. Therefore, this book will be of interest to academics, students and practitioners interested in technological and regulatory aspects of AI.

Investigating the impact of digital technology on contemporary constitutionalism, this book offers an overview of the transformations that are currently occurring at constitutional level, highlighting their link with ongoing societal changes. It reconstructs the multiple ways in which constitutional law is reacting to these challenges and explores the role of one original response to this phenomenon: the emergence of Internet bills of rights.Over the past few years, a significant number of Internet bills of rights have emerged around the world. These documents represent non-legally binding declarations promoted mostly by individuals and civil society groups that articulate rights and principles for the digital society. This book argues that these initiatives reflect a change in the constitutional ecosystem. The transformations prompted by the digital revolution in our society ferment under a vault of constitutional norms shaped for ‘analogue’ communities. Constitutional law struggles to address all the challenges of the digital environment. In this context, Internet bills of rights, by emerging outside traditional institutional processes, represent a unique response to suggest new constitutional solutions for the digital age.Explaining how constitutional law is reacting to the advent of the digital revolution and analysing the constitutional function of Internet Bills of Rights in this context, this book offers a global comparative investigation of the latest transformations that digital technology is generating in the constitutional ecosystem and highlights the plural and multilevel process that is contributing to shape constitutional norms for the Internet age.

Investigating the impact of digital technology on contemporary constitutionalism, this book offers an overview of the transformations that are currently occurring at constitutional level, highlighting their link with ongoing societal changes. It reconstructs the multiple ways in which constitutional law is reacting to these challenges and explores the role of one original response to this phenomenon: the emergence of Internet bills of rights.Over the past few years, a significant number of Internet bills of rights have emerged around the world. These documents represent non-legally binding declarations promoted mostly by individuals and civil society groups that articulate rights and principles for the digital society. This book argues that these initiatives reflect a change in the constitutional ecosystem. The transformations prompted by the digital revolution in our society ferment under a vault of constitutional norms shaped for ‘analogue’ communities. Constitutional law struggles to address all the challenges of the digital environment. In this context, Internet bills of rights, by emerging outside traditional institutional processes, represent a unique response to suggest new constitutional solutions for the digital age.Explaining how constitutional law is reacting to the advent of the digital revolution and analysing the constitutional function of Internet Bills of Rights in this context, this book offers a global comparative investigation of the latest transformations that digital technology is generating in the constitutional ecosystem and highlights the plural and multilevel process that is contributing to shape constitutional norms for the Internet age.

The integration of robotic systems and artificial intelligence into healthcare settings is accelerating. As these technological developments interact socially with children, the elderly, or the disabled, they may raise concerns besides mere physical safety; concerns that include data protection, inappropriate use of emotions, invasion of privacy, autonomy suppression, decrease in human interaction, and cognitive safety. Given the novelty of these technologies and the uncertainties surrounding the impact of care automation, it is unclear how the law should respond.This book investigates the legal and regulatory implications of the growing use of personal care robots for healthcare purposes. It explores the interplay between various aspects of the law, including safety, data protection, responsibility, transparency, autonomy, and dignity; and it examines different robotic and AI systems, such as social therapy robots, physical assistant robots for rehabilitation, and wheeled passenger carriers. Highlighting specific problems and challenges in regulating complex cyber-physical systems in concrete healthcare applications, it critically assesses the adequacy of current industry standards and emerging regulatory initiatives for robots and AI. After analyzing the potential legal and ethical issues associated with personal care robots, it concludes that the primarily principle-based approach of recent law and robotics studies is too abstract to be as effective as required by the personal care context. Instead, it recommends bridging the gap between general legal principles and their applicability in concrete robotic and AI technologies with a risk-based approach using impact assessments.As the first book to compile both legal and regulatory aspects of personal care robots, this book will be a valuable addition to the literature on robotics, artificial intelligence, human–robot interaction, law, and philosophy of technology.

The use of biometric identification systems is rapidly increasing across the world, owing to their potential to combat terrorism, fraud, corruption and other illegal activities. However, critics of the technology complain that the creation of an extensive central register of personal information controlled by the government will increase opportunities for the state to abuse citizens. There is also concern about the extent to which data about an individual is recorded and kept.This book reviews some of the most current and complex legal and ethical issues relating to the use of biometrics. Beginning with an overview of biometric systems, the book goes on to examine some of the theoretical underpinnings of the surveillance state, questioning whether these conceptual approaches are still relevant, particularly the integration of ubiquitous surveillance systems and devices. The book also analyses the implementation of the world’s largest biometric database, Aadhaar, in detail. Additionally, the identification of individuals at border checkpoints in the United States, Australia and the EU is explored, as well as the legal and ethical debates surrounding the use of biometrics regarding: the war on terror and the current refugee crisis; violations of international human rights law principles; and mobility and privacy rights. The book concludes by addressing the collection, use and disclosure of personal information by private-sector entities such as Axciom and Facebook, and government use of these tools to profile individuals.By examining the major legal and ethical issues surrounding the debate on this rapidly emerging technology, this book will appeal to students and scholars of law, criminology and surveillance studies, as well as law enforcement and criminal law practitioners.

The Internet is not an unchartered territory. On the Internet, norms matter. They interact, regulate, are contested and legitimated by multiple actors. But are they diverse and unstructured, or are they part of a recognizable order? And if the latter, what does this order look like?This collected volume explores these key questions while providing new perspectives on the role of law in times of digitality. The book compares six different areas of law that have been particularly exposed to global digitality, namely laws regulating consumer contracts, data protection, the media, financial markets, criminal activity and intellectual property law. By comparing how these very different areas of law have evolved with regard to cross-border online situations, the book considers whether cyberlaw is little more than "the law of the horse", or whether the law of global digitality is indeed special and, if so, what its characteristics across various areas of law are. The book brings together legal academics with expertise in how law has both reacted to and shaped cross-border, global Internet communication and their contributions consider whether it is possible to identify a particular mediality of law in the digital age.Examining whether a global law of digitality has truly emerged, this book will appeal to academics, students and practitioners of law examining the future of the law of digitality as it intersects with traditional categories of law.

Utilising Lon Fuller’s conception of legality, this book argues that current legal provisions often used to control online abuse aided by social media do not conform to the basic principles of legality in the criminal law, in turn, threatening freedom of expression.How we regulate inappropriate behaviour online, often referred to as online abuse, particularly online abuse aided by social media, is a contemporary concern for governments across the globe. Tragedies, such as the death of a celebrity following a campaign of online abuse, often hit the headlines, followed by the same echo: there should be a law against this. Yet, in England and Wales, numerous laws exist to control, prosecute, and convict individuals who use the likes of social media to harass, intimidate, and abuse others online. So why is the law failing to keep pace with modern technology? This monograph critically examines this fundamental question, from the perspective of legality. Applying criminal law to three growing areas of concern, it covers: (1) racist speech, (2) cyberharassment/cyberstalking, and (3) the sending of abusive messages online. It then turns to examine the latest attempts by UK officials to tackle these issues through the implementation of the Online Safety Act 2023 and France’s, Germany’s, and India’s attempts to regulate social media.The book will be of interest to researchers in the field of criminal law and cyber law, as well as online abuse, harassment, and discrimination.

Utilising Lon Fuller’s conception of legality, this book argues that current legal provisions often used to control online abuse aided by social media do not conform to the basic principles of legality in the criminal law, in turn, threatening freedom of expression.How we regulate inappropriate behaviour online, often referred to as online abuse, particularly online abuse aided by social media, is a contemporary concern for governments across the globe. Tragedies, such as the death of a celebrity following a campaign of online abuse, often hit the headlines, followed by the same echo: there should be a law against this. Yet, in England and Wales, numerous laws exist to control, prosecute, and convict individuals who use the likes of social media to harass, intimidate, and abuse others online. So why is the law failing to keep pace with modern technology? This monograph critically examines this fundamental question, from the perspective of legality. Applying criminal law to three growing areas of concern, it covers: (1) racist speech, (2) cyberharassment/cyberstalking, and (3) the sending of abusive messages online. It then turns to examine the latest attempts by UK officials to tackle these issues through the implementation of the Online Safety Act 2023 and France’s, Germany’s, and India’s attempts to regulate social media.The book will be of interest to researchers in the field of criminal law and cyber law, as well as online abuse, harassment, and discrimination.

Internet of Things and the Law: Legal Strategies for Consumer-Centric Smart Technologies is the most comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of the legal issues in the Internet of Things (IoT). For decades, the decreasing importance of tangible wealth and power – and the increasing significance of their disembodied counterparts – has been the subject of much legal research. For some time now, legal scholars have grappled with how laws drafted for tangible property and predigital ‘offline’ technologies can cope with dematerialisation, digitalisation, and the internet. As dematerialisation continues, this book aims to illuminate the opposite movement: rematerialisation, namely, the return of data, knowledge, and power within a physical ‘smart’ world. This development frames the book’s central question: can the law steer rematerialisation in a human-centric and socially just direction? To answer it, the book focuses on the IoT, the sociotechnological phenomenon that is primarily responsible for this shift. After a thorough analysis of how existing laws can be interpreted to empower IoT end users, Noto La Diega leaves us with the fundamental question of what happens when the law fails us and concludes with a call for collective resistance against ‘smart’ capitalism.The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.

AI in combination with other innovative technologies promises to bring unprecedented opportunities to all aspects of life. These technologies, however, hold great dangers, especially for the manipulation of the human mind, which have given rise to serious ethical concerns. Apart from some sectoral regulatory efforts to address these concerns, no regulatory framework for AI has yet been adopted though in 2021 the European Commission of the EU published a draft Act on Artificial Intelligence and UNESCO followed suit with a Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence.The book contextualises the future regulation of AI, specifically addressing the regulatory challenges relating to the planned prohibition of the use of AI systems that deploy subliminal techniques. The convergence of AI with various related technologies, such as brain–computer interfaces, functional magnetic resonance imaging, robotics and big data, already allows for "mind reading" or "dream hacking" through brain spyware, as well as other practices that intrude on cognition and the right to freedom of thought. Future innovations will enhance the possibilities for manipulating thoughts and behaviour, and they threaten to cause serious harm to individuals as well as to society as a whole.The issue of subliminal perception and the ability to deceive and manipulate the mind below the threshold of awareness causes severe difficulties for law and democracy and raises important questions for the future of society. This book shows how cognitive, technological, and legal questions are intrinsically interwoven, and aims to stimulate an urgently needed transdisciplinary and transnational debate between students, academics, practitioners, policymakers and citizens interested not only in the law but also in disciplines including computer science, neuroscience, sociology, political science, marketing and psychology.

AI in combination with other innovative technologies promises to bring unprecedented opportunities to all aspects of life. These technologies, however, hold great dangers, especially for the manipulation of the human mind, which have given rise to serious ethical concerns. Apart from some sectoral regulatory efforts to address these concerns, no regulatory framework for AI has yet been adopted though in 2021 the European Commission of the EU published a draft Act on Artificial Intelligence and UNESCO followed suit with a Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence.The book contextualises the future regulation of AI, specifically addressing the regulatory challenges relating to the planned prohibition of the use of AI systems that deploy subliminal techniques. The convergence of AI with various related technologies, such as brain–computer interfaces, functional magnetic resonance imaging, robotics and big data, already allows for "mind reading" or "dream hacking" through brain spyware, as well as other practices that intrude on cognition and the right to freedom of thought. Future innovations will enhance the possibilities for manipulating thoughts and behaviour, and they threaten to cause serious harm to individuals as well as to society as a whole.The issue of subliminal perception and the ability to deceive and manipulate the mind below the threshold of awareness causes severe difficulties for law and democracy and raises important questions for the future of society. This book shows how cognitive, technological, and legal questions are intrinsically interwoven, and aims to stimulate an urgently needed transdisciplinary and transnational debate between students, academics, practitioners, policymakers and citizens interested not only in the law but also in disciplines including computer science, neuroscience, sociology, political science, marketing and psychology.

The metaverse seems to be on everybody’s lips – and yet, very few people can actually explain what it means or why it is important. This book aims to fill the gap from an interdisciplinary perspective informed by law and media and communications studies. Going beyond the optimism emanating from technology companies and venture capitalists, the authors critically evaluate the antecedents and the building blocks of the metaverse, the design and regulatory challenges that need to be solved, and commercial opportunities that are yet to be fully realised. While the metaverse is poised to open new possibilities and perspectives, it will also be a dangerous place – one ripe with threats ranging from disinformation to intellectual property theft to sexual harassment. Hence, the book offers a useful guide to the legal and political governance issues ahead while also contextualising them within the broader domain of governance and regulation of digital technologies.

The metaverse seems to be on everybody’s lips – and yet, very few people can actually explain what it means or why it is important. This book aims to fill the gap from an interdisciplinary perspective informed by law and media and communications studies. Going beyond the optimism emanating from technology companies and venture capitalists, the authors critically evaluate the antecedents and the building blocks of the metaverse, the design and regulatory challenges that need to be solved, and commercial opportunities that are yet to be fully realised. While the metaverse is poised to open new possibilities and perspectives, it will also be a dangerous place – one ripe with threats ranging from disinformation to intellectual property theft to sexual harassment. Hence, the book offers a useful guide to the legal and political governance issues ahead while also contextualising them within the broader domain of governance and regulation of digital technologies.

Focusing on four key aspects of Web3, the book explores metaverses, data governance, public and private law interfaces, and access to justice, presenting new research on the impact of data analytics on transactions within law, on regulatory activities, and on the practice of law.Artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics have played a key role in the development of Web3, transforming the governance of existing digital platforms and enabling the formation of new platforms. Web3 is increasingly used for commercial and social interactions and is predicted to be the future of the internet. As a blockchain-based web, Web3 provides a platform for cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralised autonomous organisations, and decentralised finance. Web3 users can read, write, and even own their own version of the web, which has transformed the space for commerce and social interaction, but brings inherent risks. This book identifies the principles in law and policy which can be used as the basis for the development of Web3 activities and their regulation with a focus on security, scalability, and sustainability. Though digital platforms and underlying technologies have reshaped our daily lives and business practices, they have also caused numerous legal problems. The book considers the interaction of data analytics with well-established fields of study such as financial law, tax law, intellectual property, data protection, private international law, and internet law.Addressing the current knowledge gap in the legal literature on Web3, including blockchain, AI, and data governance in commercial and social activities, it develops new baseline frameworks which will form the foundation for new research into data governance, FinTech, and RegTech, as well as social and market infrastructure, and will be essential reading for scholars in law, business studies, economics, public administration, and regulation.

This book investigates the complex ethical dilemmas underpinning AI regulation, analysing the EU Artificial Intelligence Act in the context of the fundamental values and ambitious expectations that have accompanied it initially.This book posits a pioneering regulatory framework to ensure the ethical development and equitable deployment of AI technologies for societal benefit. The expanding integration of AI and its deepening interaction with humans raise profound ethical dilemmas. As legislators endeavour to address these rapid developments and ensure AI serves the public good and does not cause harm, this book discusses the ethical complexities which pose a significant challenge for the EU and beyond. The book posits the discussion on AI regulation in a broader global background and refers to human agency, trustworthiness, risk classifications, the attribution of liability for deficiencies arising from its improper implementation, and other problems that the AI-based systems may cause. Additionally, it seeks to familiarise the reader with the AI Act and critically expands on the burdens the new law may impose on subjects.This book will be of interest to researchers, policymakers, students and practitioners with an interest in the legal and ethical dimensions of technology law, governance, EU law, and artificial intelligence.The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

EU regulatory initiatives concerning technology-related topics have spiked over the past few years. On the basis of its Priorities Programme, which is focused on making Europe ‘Fit for the Digital Age’, the European Commission has been busily releasing new texts aimed at regulating a number of technology topics, including data uses, online platforms, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence.This book identifies three phenomena which are common to all EU digital technologies-relevant regulatory initiatives: act-ification, GDPR mimesis, and regulatory brutality. These three phenomena serve as indicators or early signs of a new European technology law-making paradigm that now seems ready to emerge. They divulge new-found confidence on the part of the EU digital technologies legislator, who has now asserted for itself the right to form policy options and create new rules in the field for all of Europe.Bringing together an analysis of the regulatory initiatives for the management of technology topics in the EU for the first time, this book will be of interest to academics, policymakers, and practitioners, sparking academic and policymaking interest and discussion.

This book brings together contributions from leading scholars in law and technology, analysing the privacy issues raised by new data-driven technologies.Highlighting the challenges that technology poses to existing European Union (EU) data protection laws, the book assesses whether current legal frameworks are fit for purpose, while maintaining a balance between supporting innovation and the protection of individual’s privacy. Data privacy issues range from targeted advertising and facial recognition, systems based on artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain, and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, to technologies that enable the detection of emotions and personal care robots.The book will be of interest to scholars, policymakers and practitioners working in the fields of law and technology, EU law and data protection.

Focusing on four key aspects of Web3, the book explores metaverses, data governance, public and private law interfaces, and access to justice, presenting new research on the impact of data analytics on transactions within law, on regulatory activities, and on the practice of law.Artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics have played a key role in the development of Web3, transforming the governance of existing digital platforms and enabling the formation of new platforms. Web3 is increasingly used for commercial and social interactions and is predicted to be the future of the internet. As a blockchain-based web, Web3 provides a platform for cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralised autonomous organisations, and decentralised finance. Web3 users can read, write, and even own their own version of the web, which has transformed the space for commerce and social interaction, but brings inherent risks. This book identifies the principles in law and policy which can be used as the basis for the development of Web3 activities and their regulation with a focus on security, scalability, and sustainability. Though digital platforms and underlying technologies have reshaped our daily lives and business practices, they have also caused numerous legal problems. The book considers the interaction of data analytics with well-established fields of study such as financial law, tax law, intellectual property, data protection, private international law, and internet law.Addressing the current knowledge gap in the legal literature on Web3, including blockchain, AI, and data governance in commercial and social activities, it develops new baseline frameworks which will form the foundation for new research into data governance, FinTech, and RegTech, as well as social and market infrastructure, and will be essential reading for scholars in law, business studies, economics, public administration, and regulation.