Trends and disputes technology predictions 2019

• United Kingdom

• Technology, Media and Telecoms

22-01-2019

In 2019, expect to see more disputes, claims and litigation arising from data/system security breaches and (un-)availability issues, whether brought by individuals, via group litigation or between organisations.  Private information is one aspect, but there is a wealth of confidential corporate data, intellectual property and trade secrets that is vulnerable to internal and external breaches in the hyper-connected world.  The role of product and managed services providers can come under intense scrutiny when their corporate or governmental customers suffer incidents and providers, whatever their size, should take steps now to assess that potential exposure should the worst happen.

In the UK, there has been an increasingly favourable environment for individual compensation arising from such incidents, via the Courts but also through litigation funding and alternative fee arrangements.  At the end of 2018, the Court sought to apply some boundaries to recovery and representative actions.  Expect further refinements of the Court’s approach to determining liability and compensation in 2019.  Of course, this is separate to the significant regulatory and reputational risks that can flow from such incidents.

Tech innovation will continue apace and with it, because of its novelty, complexity, connectivity and scale, the continuing trend of more frequent and larger technology and communications related disputes.  The issues that we have seen in 2018, relating to (for example) managed/outsourced services, software licensing, complex ICT procurement and tech product safety will all feature prominently in 2019 and will link to the increasing prevalence of IoT, AI, automation and autonomy across all industry sectors.

For more information contact: James Hyde