| NOTAS: | Report from the Expert Group on Liability and New Technologies – New Technologies Formation
"Artificial intelligence and other emerging digital technologies, such as the Internet of Things or distributed ledger technologies, have the potential to transform our societies and economies for the better. However, their rollout must come with sufficient safeguards, to minimise the risk of harm these technologies may cause, such as bodily injury or other harm. In the EU, product safety regulations ensure this is the case. However, such regulations cannot completely exclude the possibility of damage resulting from the operation of these technologies. If this happens, victims will seek compensation. They typically do so on the basis of liability regimes under private law, in particular tort law, possibly in combination with insurance. Only the strict liability of producers for defective products, which constitutes a small part of this kind of liability regimes, is harmonised at EU level by the Product Liability Directive, while all other regimes – apart from some exceptions in specific sectors or under special legislation – are regulated by the Member States themselves. In its assessment of existing liability regimes in the wake of emerging digital technologies, the New Technologies Formation of the Expert Group has concluded that the liability regimes in force in the Member States ensure at least basic protection of victims whose damage is caused by the operation of such new technologies. However, the specific characteristics of these technologies and their applications – including complexity, modification through updates or selflearning during operation, limited predictability, and vulnerability to cybersecurity threats – may make it more difficult to offer these victims a claim for compensation in all cases where this seems justified. It may also be the case that the allocation of liability is unfair or inefficient. To rectify this, certain adjustments need to be made to EU and national liability regimes." |
