Risks & opportunities in autonomous intelligent cars liability & privacy - roeland de bruin

Centre for Access to and Acceptance of Autonomous IntelligenceAn initiative of CIER/Utrecht University

www.caaai.eu

Risks and opportunities inAutonomous Intelligent Cars:

Liability & Privacy

*

Roeland de Bruin LL.M.Centre for Access to and Acceptance of Autonomous Inteligence (CAAAI)

Centre for Intellectual Property Law (CIER) – Centre for Regulation and Enforcement in Europe

(RENFORCE) – Utrecht University & Mitopics B.V.


www.caaai.eu

Outline

1. Autonomous Intelligent Cars

2. Risk society: Incentives for development &

acceptance

3. Liability for AIC

1. Non-harmonized: Liability for motor vehicles

2. Harmonized: Product Liability

4. AIC-tracing technology: a promise?

1. Privacy issues

5. Opportunities and discussion


www.caaai.eu



www.caaai.eu



www.caaai.eu


• Cars • Wheeled, self-powered motor vehicles used for transportation

• Autonomous (?)• Relates to the level of human intervention

• A spectrum; ‘decision making capacity’ correlates with need for

‘human intervention’

• Intelligent (?)• Ability to adapt behaviour to new circumstances

• Keywords: learning, reasoning, problem solving, (language)

perception etc%

• Ultimately: “vehicles capable of perceiving data and information, that are

able to learn, and make decisions based on their ‘experience’, without direct

human intervention or instruction, used for transportation of persons and

goods.”


www.caaai.eu

1a: Autonomy spectrum

Cited from Pawsey & Nath, “Autonomous Road Vehicles”, POSTNote 2013

www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/post-pn-443.pdf


www.caaai.eu

1a: Autonomy spectrum

Cited from Pawsey & Nath, “Autonomous Road Vehicles”, POSTNote 2013

www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/post-pn-443.pdf


www.caaai.eu

2. Risk society:

Incentives for development & acceptance

� KMPG:

“technology could provide

solutions to some of our

most intractable social

problems — the high cost

of traffic crashes and

transportation

infrastructure, the millions

of hours wasted in traffic

jams, and the wasted

urban space given over to

parking lots, just to name

a few.”

• EC: AIC will contribute to growth

• Development is beneficial to

competitiveness on the global market

• AIC will contribute to road safety

• AIC will lead to a decrease in CO2-

emission

• AIC will enable mobility for disabled

citizens


www.caaai.eu

2. Incentives, however�

� Sugg. Green Paper

ELS-issues in

Robotics;

� CAAAi – Mapping the

Framework for the

sustainable

development of

Autonomous

Intelligent Systems in

Society ;

� RoboLAW Report.

• EU regulatory framework is currently not

optimized for stimulating development

and deployment.

• Legal uncertainty forms an impediment

for industry and citizens

• Liability risks;

• Privacy risks;

• Contracting law;

• Intellectual Property;

• International public/private law;

• Et cetera


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3. Liability for AIC

A Scenario

• AIC crashes into 3 bicyclists

• 3.00 AM

• Damage to bikes, car and cyclists

• Bicyclists ignored a red traffic light

• Car made a ‘wrong’ update to crash-avoidance

module, was not instructed to do so

• ‘Driver’ was sleepy%

• How would the current EU-framework address

the liability question?


www.caaai.eu

3.1 Non-harmonized: liability for motor vehicles

� Directive 2009/103/EC

� FR: Loi Badinter

� NL: Wegenverkeerswet

� UK: Negligence rules

• EU Harmonization

• Six directives on Insurance• One is still in force

• EC attempted to harmonize liability for

motor vehicles in 2002

• 28 different approaches

• France: strict liability for drivers

• Netherlands: semi-strict liability for

owners/keepers vehicles

• UK: negligence rules for determining

liability


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3.2 Harmonized: PLD

• (Semi) no-fault liability system

• Creating a ‘one stop shop’ for consumers to

seek compensation from producers for

• Damages to people and other goods

• Caused by defective products

• Defective:

• Products lacking safety

“which the public at a large is entitled to

expect”, taking all relevant circumstances

into account

• Despite exceptions


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3.2 Interim observations

• Autonomy can prove a complicating factor in

determining causality

• In harmonized product liability

• Relation between accident and damage;

• Assessing contributory negligence

& in

• Non-harmonized regulations on liability for

motor vehicles (except France)

• NL: causality in the ‘other 50%’

• UK: assessing negligence/causality


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4. AIC Tracing Technology, a promise?

AIC-tracing technology can aid in

assessing cause of an accident. Helps

assessing liability issues

• Black boxes;

• V2V/V2I communication.

http://www.autoinsuresavi

ngs.org/future-car-

technology-vehicle-

vehicle-v2v-

communications/


www.caaai.eu

4.1 AIC-tracing & Privacy

Privacy

• Right to be left alone

• EU Harmonized; a.o.

• Dir. 95/46/EC, DPD

(Data Protection Directive)

Core values:

• Free movement of data

• Strict rules for processing data;

• Strong protection -> trust

-> adoption of new technology


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4.1 AIC data: personal data?

DPD:

Personal data • relating to a identified/identifiable natural

person

May only be processed• all possible actions

Fairly and lawfully• F.i. on a legal ground; with (unambiguous)

consent of the data-subject

For specified, explicit, legitimate purposes

AIC data can be personal

data.

Collecting, storing,

processing, deleting by

means of BB/V2I/V2V

by means of f.i. informed

consent

May not be used for

other/broader purposes

than specified


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4.1 Adequate protection measures

Personal data:

• Need to be adequately protected against

loss, alteration and unauthorized

disclosure/access;

• May not be exported outside the EEA

whenever adequate protection cannot be

guaranteed.

• US/EU Safe Harbour Rules

Level of “appropriate

measures” not defined in

DPD -> left to co-

regulation in Member

States.

V2I/cloud storage of AIC-

data may be problematic.

Destination country not

always clear. US-

processing can be

problematic


www.caaai.eu

4.1 General Data Protection Regulation

Regulatory framework is updated• General Data Protection Regulation

• Will impose even stricter rules regarding data

processing

• With stronger enforcement measures:

• Non-EU processors of EU data subjects

directly in-scope

• Privacy authorities may impose fines up to >

5% annual worldwide turnover, or if higher:

€100 mln for non-compliance

• Liability towards data subjects for non-

compliant processing will be extended

• Stimulus for acceptance, hurdle for

development?


www.caaai.eu

• Stimulating development & acceptance of AIC

• Promises: safety, accessibility, ecology,

economy

• Legal obstacles:

• Uncertainty :

• Applicable (harmonized) liability

rules;

• Not equipped to cope with autonomy

• AIC-tracing is ‘hindered’ by

uncertainty as to (new) privacy rules,

& strict privacy protection

•Regulatory framework of (a.o.) liability & privacy

is not yet optimal

• how to optimize?

5. Optimization opportunities


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Thank you -

Discussion

*

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Centre for Access to and Acceptance of Autonomous Inteligence (CAAAI)

Centre for Intellectual Property Law (CIER) – Centre for Regulation and Enforcement

in Europe (RENFORCE) – Utrecht University