Technological convergence take place when existing technologies combine to create new forms of media and applications. Handheld devices such as smartphones and tablets in conjunction high-speed mobile broadband offer consumers the convenience and economics of purchasing fewer devices with ever broader media capabilities.
The increase of technology convergence attracts commercial and regulatory pressure to manage the responsibilities which come with technology carefully, from handling personal data to managing corporate social media accounts.
The merging of technologies, with mobile devices as the centrepiece, has presented a continual challenge for legislators, information technology lawyers and businesses that use information technology – businesses are able to do more with information, particularly big data.
Older legislation regulating technology used the language of technology frameworks rigidly, defined by separate technologies such as TV, radio and telephone. It has been seen that technology has a great ability to overtake the law, and legislators have wised up by passing laws which attempt to account for technological convergence. Despite this, it remains extremely challenging for specific information technology laws and other areas of law such as intellectual property law, defamation law and even criminal law to keep up in certain areas. The speed of technological convergence in the last decade or so has left a trail of legal complications in its wake as older legislation and case law have become inadequate to deal with the current environment.
Despite multimedia devices sacrificing quality in a specific function for across the board functionality (e.g. a smartphones’ early video cameras), recent developments show that these devices continually improve to satisfy consumer expectations.
Central to this phenomenon is the internet. The latest devices are increasingly presumed by the consumer to offer a variety of hardware and software functions while providing access to pre-existing cloud services accounts, such as Netflix and Amazon’s Kindle application. With almost all digital media devices being Wi-fi, 3G, or a 4G enabled (even fridges), cloud services – such as video streaming – represent a substantial catalyst for further technological convergence.
Information technology is a broad legal field that has close relationships with a variety of areas, in particular intellectual property law, but there are a number of specific statutes to be aware of.
The Data Protection Act 1988, which implemented the European Data Protection Directive, went some way towards recognising (prospective) technological convergence when it made clear that there were now – irrespective of platform – clear regulations regarding the lawful processing of personal data. For instance, in July 2014, the Information Commissioner released its guidance (“Big data”) on the responsibilities which come with processing big data. The hyper-sensitivity of the public to abuses of personal data and misplacing it means that the guidance provides a benchmark to playing within the law, even if the application of the guidance is not as clear as it might be for any particular business sector.
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 obliged public bodies to release information about their activities upon request.
The Communications Act 2003, later followed by the Digital Economy Act 2010, introduced regulation which took account of the way multimedia devices had caused dramatic convergence in the delivery of a variety of media. Both Acts dealt in terms consistent with a degree of technological convergence insofar as the distinction between public telecommunications systems and private telecommunications systems was utilised.
The Digital Economy Act 2010 was enacted largely for its enabling of powers to curb online copyright infringement. It also entailed the creation of powers to block infringing websites from access the internet through coordination with Internet Service Providers.
Despite the wave of legislation enacted in Europe and in Parliament, technology law will likely always be left to play catch-up as technological progress continues so quickly and significantly. Business owners should stay abreast of legal developments, and guidance issued by different regulatory bodies, to avoid unwanted and avoidable distractions to the business of doing business.
To speak with an intellectual property lawyer, or for advice from an information technology specialist, contact Leigh Ellis on 020 7353 1770.
For business legal advice and more information on legal frameworks for technology and application of regulations to industry sectors, contact us online or call us on 020 7353 1770.
