From Smart Technologies to Smart Consumer Law

Lessons from Germany and the United Kingdom
Erscheinungsjahr 2026
ISBN: 978-1-5099-8648-4
Verlag: Bloomsbury Publishing plc

Buch, Englisch, 304 Seiten, Hardback, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 431 g

Reihe: Hart Publishing

This open access book critically analyses a wide range of consumer law issues generated or exacerbated by the Internet of Things.

The Internet of Things challenges many of the dichotomies which have shaped current laws: goods-services, hardware-software, tangible-intangible, online-offline. The book focuses on 4 specific challenges: things-as-service, liability, bricking of physical devices through software control, and the potential for enhanced personalisation, especially for digital assistants.

The chapters analyse specific applications such as smart homes, connected cars, and consumer wearables with a view to providing innovative solutions to the new challenges posed by the Internet of Things, and to steer the development of the Internet of Things in a fairer direction.

As well as offering an important analysis of the potential for smart consumer laws in the Internet of Things, the book also provides important insights into the growing divergence between Germany's and the UK's consumer laws since Brexit.

The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by UKRI (Arts and Humanities Research Council) and the German Research Foundation (DFG).

Autoren/Hrsg.

Busch, Christoph

Diega, Guido Noto La

Specht-Riemenschneider, Louisa

Twigg-Flesner, Christian

Fachgebiete

• Rechtswissenschaften Ausländisches Recht Common Law (UK, USA, Australien u.a.)

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. General Introduction, Christoph Busch (University of Osnabrück, Germany), Guido Noto la Diega (University of Strathclyde, UK), Louisa Specht-Riemenschneider (Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, Germany), and Christian Twigg-Flesner (University of Warwick, UK)

2. A Primer to IoT - Technological and Business Landscape, Benjamin Clubbs Coldron (University of Northumbria, UK), Tabea Stolte (University of Osnabrück, Germany) and Victor Mehnert (University of Bonn, Germany)

3. From the Sale of 'Things' to the Subscription to 'Things-as-a-Service': Lifelong Contracts, Regulatory Challenges, and Consumer Law by Design, Christoph Busch (University of Osnabrück, Germany) and Guido Noto la Diega (University of Strathclyde, UK)

4. Liability in the Internet of Things, Gregor-Rafael Görgen (University of Bonn, Germany), Louisa Specht-Riemenschneider (Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, Germany) and Christian Twigg-Flesner (University of Warwick, UK)

5. Bricking, Benjamin Clubbs Coldron (University of Northumbria, UK), Guido Noto la Diega (University of Strathclyde, UK), Jonathan Brown (University of Strathclyde, UK), Victor Mehnert (University of Bonn, Germany), Gregor-Rafael Görgen (University of Bonn, Germany) and Louisa Specht-Riemenschneider (Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, Germany)

6. Personalisation, Christoph Busch (University of Osnabrück, Germany), Tabea Stolte (University of Osnabrück, Germany) and Christian Twigg-Flesner (University of Warwick, UK)

7. Towards "Smarter" Consumer Laws, Christoph Busch (University of Osnabrück, Germany), Guido Noto la Diega (University of Strathclyde, UK), Louisa Specht-Riemenschneider (Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, Germany), and Christian Twigg-Flesner (University of Warwick, UK)

Über Autor(innen)

Specht-Riemenschneider, Louisa
Louisa Specht-Riemenschneider is the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, Germany.

Busch, Christoph
Christoph Busch is Professor of European Private and Business Law at the University of Osnabrück and Co-Chair of the European Law Institute's Digital Law Group, Germany.

Twigg-Flesner, Christian
Christian Twigg-Flesner is Professor of Contract and Consumer Law at the University of Warwick, UK.

Diega, Guido Noto La
Guido Noto La Diega is Professor of Law at the University of Strathclyde, UK.

Christoph Busch is Professor of Law at the University of Osnabrück, Germany.
Guido Noto La Diega is Professor of Law at the University of Strathclyde, UK.
Louisa Specht-Riemenschneider is the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, Germany.
Christian Twigg-Flesner is Professor of Law at the University of Warwick, UK.