Product Liability Amid Technological Disruption: Abating The Surge Of Digital Consumer Risks
- IJLLR Journal
- Jun 13
- 2 min read
Ms. Aleena Placid, Law Lecturer, Bishop Cotton Women's Christian Law College
ABSTRACT
The rapid progression of digital technologies reshaped the global marketplace, introducing novel risks for consumers and posing substantial challenges to traditional legal frameworks.
Adapting product liability laws to address the emerging risks posed by technological advancements has become a pressing priority as new technologies introduce increasingly complex legal scenarios. This research thoroughly investigates the connection between product liability law and advancements in technology, concentrating on digital products and services like software, algorithms, and data. The various issues include instances of harm from autonomous vehicles or other AI-driven products, conflicts regarding manufacturers’ responsibility for faults in software or algorithms, and safety issues linked to genetically modified foods and other cutting-edge technologies. The research emphasises the difficulties in determining liability within technological environments, where failures and data breaches often involve numerous participants, such as platform operators, data collectors, and software developers. Existing legal frameworks encompassing negligence, strict liability, and warranty law that are analysed for their limitations in addressing the intangible characteristics of digital components and the evidentiary difficulties in establishing a causal connection between defects and consumer harm. Additionally, the study explores the urgent need for effective allocation of responsibility across the digital supply chain. In response to these challenges, the research proposes extensive reforms, which involve the creation of specific legal criteria for assessing algorithmic fairness and data protection, improved regulatory supervision in critical areas like cybersecurity and data privacy, and the incorporation of self-regulation by the industry to enhance consumer safety initiatives. The research concludes with a detailed plan to balance technological advancement with consumer protection, offering essential recommendations for policymakers, legal practitioners, and industry leaders to update product liability laws for the current digital landscape.
Keywords: Digital Technologies, Product Liability Law, Technological Disruption, Regulatory Reforms, Digital Supply Chain, Consumer Risks.
