Tort Law May Lag New Tech Like IoT, Drones, Self-Driving Cars, Experts Say

Litigation and assigning legal blame when things go wrong with IoT devices, including autonomous vehicles and drones, are complex issues, with tort law not necessarily having caught up with technology, said experts at a Chamber of Commerce event webcast Wednesday. Litigation isn't a great way to improve security or to help the complex ecosystem figure out who should be doing what, said Wiley Rein's Megan Brown. "The decision-makers are not expert, far from it. And there's a lot, currently, of definitional uncertainty in what we're even talking about in the Internet of Things." She said the litigation system is "anathema" to collaboration and a speedy response and could have a "chilling effect" on companies and innovators to continue to improve security. She said fear of litigation could affect collaboration on a product within a company where communication isn't privileged or subject to confidentiality. States need to develop modern standards for evidentiary rules and approaches and the public needs to be better educated on basic cyber hygiene and products, she said. VMware Deputy General Counsel Laurie Hane said existing legal instruments are "blunt," not nuanced and don't account for IoT complexities. NSS Labs CEO Vikram Phatak said things will get worse before they get better because consumers will lose confidence in the products. He said he favors more transparency in the process, and in the future there may be fewer IoT players who may be held to a higher standard. Companies using drones worry about different legal issues. Vice President and Counsel Kevin Frederick said State Farm uses drones for things such as roof inspections and in catastrophes because they a safer and more efficient. He said drones are going to crash, hit things and potentially injure people, but he said his company's concern is the absence of or inconsistent law on privacy, nuisance and trespass. This is complicated due to federal and state laws on authority over drones and potential violations, he said. Roger Nober, executive vice president-law and corporate affairs, said his railway, BNSF, uses drones to inspect tracks and bridges. His company worries about missing something in the large amount of data collected that could cause an incident, he said.