Time for law change but will the consumer or the big players win? - Rashmi Dube

But some disputes should never occur and in fact could be avoided completely if the law(s) were in place. In the next two or three years, I believe the law should undergo a change that would impact not just businesses but, with some luck, will have a positive impact on society as a whole.

Historically, laws have often been slow to change in a variety of areas, for example giving women the vote, whilst women are still struggling with gender pay gap differences and equality rights for workers and discrimination laws are still requiring further changes.

But laws are often changed because people push for them, such as the anti-discrimination laws, or because there is a need to protect workers, such as unfair dismissal laws.

In some instances, laws are changed or brought in because of changes in use such as how personal data is used or evolution of technology, such as social media having a direct or indirect impact upon society. We live in a society impacted by technology at a rapid pace but the laws that are in existence in some instances do not protect society, or in other instances, are open to abuse and exploitation.

Over the years we have seen an accelerated growth on how personal data is used, and advancement in technology particularly with Artificial Intelligence. Compounded to this impact are the differing views country to country on how the internet is to be used from surveillance and authoritarian control to freedom.

Orwell’s question often arises of how much is Big Brother watching us, but in this instance who is Big Brother – is it the state or the tech company or both? People are slowly retaliating. We have already seen a rise in cases from photographers suing celebrities who use their photography on their social media pages such as Instagram to talk about themselves and their event without obtaining a license, whilst memes are also moving in this direction.

In recent weeks, we have seen the positive and negative comments made about or against the England footballers, whilst we still see very little action by the social media platforms to prevent such occurrences or to report the user to the authorities. President Biden claimed that social media platforms such as Facebook were “killing people” by allowing misinformation to circulate on their platform.

Sociological questions around controlling hate, abuse and misinformation are one thing, but where I see another change that will occur is around the rights of the consumer, and I am not clear who will be victorious.

Why hasn’t a consumer sued a tech company or anyone who retains data on the grounds that they are not equals in respect of their negotiating power?

Often consumers are being forced to consent and give away their data to the highest bidder and don’t seeing any financial profit but rather gain a barrage of targeted adverts “designed” by a set of rules to be followed in calculations by a computer. The realisation that one’s data is an asset is not a new one.

I wonder if the consumer will uprise first and cause the laws to change for greater protection around their data? Or will the tech giants protect their position and influence the law to their benefit, gaining support down the line from businesses that also profit from data exchange; or will business from an ethics perspective stand up and support the changes to the law?

Are we deluded to think it is about consent and ethics or is it just about control and profit?

Rashmi Dube is a partner at Gunnercooke

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Thank you

James Mitchinson