User Centric Regulation for the Domestic Internet of Things : Horizon CDT

At the end of last week I returned to bonny Edinburgh for a talk at the Law School called “User Centric Regulation for the Domestic Internet of Things“. It was nice to return as an alumnus presenting on my PhD research and I was kindly hosted by the University of Edinburgh’s IT, IP and Media Law Group. The enjoyable event involved detailed discussions on the interplay between designers and lawyers in addressing the regulatory challenges stemming from the internet of things. I presented not just theoretical and legal perspectives but also a range of empirical and design perspectives to situate the role of technologists in regulation. The empirical data draws on interviews, questionnaires, workshops, focus groups and so forth, and this work is in forthcoming journal papers and book chapters, with working versions here, here and here.

User-Centric Regulation for the Domestic Internet of Things (Lachlan Urquhart, University of Nottingham),

Fri 2nd Dec, 2pm

“We are delighted to announce another discussion group event which will take place on Friday 2 December at 2pm in the Neil MacCormick Room (9.01) of David Hume Tower. Our speaker, Lachlan Urquhart, previously studied at Edinburgh and is now a Research Fellow in Information Technology Law at the Horizon Digital Economy Research Institute (University of Nottingham). He will present on the following topic:

Increasingly, technology designers are being called upon to address regulatory challenges posed by emerging technologies. However, their role in regulation is not settled and needs to be situated both conceptually and practically. We present a multidisciplinary response through examining what the field of human computer interaction (HCI) can offer. We do this by presenting a number of conceptual, empirical and design led perspectives from the interface between IT law and HCI. We ground these within the case study of doing information privacy by design for the domestic internet of things. HCI focuses on how users interact with technologies in practice. In designing user experiences, HCI practice draws on a range of approaches and concepts to develop a rich picture of the social context of technology use. By reframing these to consider regulatory and ethical dimensions, we argue the role of technology designers in regulation can be better understood.

The talk will be followed by a Q&A section and refreshments will be provided. All students and staff are welcome and no registration is required.”