newtech.law - legal aspects of new technologies

Artificial intelligence (AI) is now capable of producing ever-more complex creations which are becoming increasingly indistinguishable from works made by human beings. Recent news shows that this reality is truly upon us. First, there were the algorithm-created paintings whose complexity and unconventional style were anonymously judged to be superior to human efforts. Then, a novel written by a Japanese AI algorithm made it past the initial selection round for a national literary prize.

Technological advance and resultant socio-economic “revolutions” have always triggered significant developments in international economic law.

In the 15^th and 16^th centuries, inventions in navigation and cartography and the discoveries of new lands and trade routes led to innovations in economic organization, the “commercial revolution”, globalization of trade and the beginnings of international trade law.

According to a Eurobarometer survey, 42% of EU-based SMEs – sellers, game companies or for instance online travel agents – use online platforms to sell their products and services. As many as 82% of these firms use search engines on these platforms to promote their products and services.

Online platforms are a huge force driving the e-economy, through which SMEs have unlimited access to millions of prospective customers. They are becoming increasingly important as vital go-betweens in online transacting of business. The operators of these online platforms are well aware of this and frequently exploit this reliance in platform-to-business relationships with firms offering their products and services to end customers.

A forthcoming breakthrough in smart algorithm systems will certainly revolutionise the entire economy, much as internet access has become universal. This revolution will not just impact opportunities for finding work in professions such as translator or driver, but will also completely transform the operations of the justice system. This was demonstrated in a recent competition to predict the results of court proceedings between a group of lawyers and an algorithm created by an English startup.

At a meeting summarising public consultations on a bill implementing the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Poland, the Ministry of Digital Affairs confirmed that during legislative work a change was approved providing for major exceptions to the GDPR. This change was proposed in October 2017 by the Ministry of Development. This proposed exception is an interesting example of how hard it can be to draft legislation properly aligned to the needs of a digital economy.

On many occasions we have predicted that cryptocurrencies will soon become subject to Anti Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations.

This became clear in July 2016 when the European Commission announced that it will impose new regulations and presented its proposed changes. (Coming soon: A legal definition of virtual currencies).

In our 2014 Virtual currency report we analysed the anticipated impact of the potential regulations on the cryptocurrency market and discussed the subject again in 2015’s  Bitcoin and money-laundering regulations article. We have also brought attention to the subject during industry conferences and meetups.

Currently, legislative work on these regulations is nearing the end, both at the EU-level and in Poland. Below, we take a look at what the nearly-ready rules will contain and their practical impact.