Facial recognition in supermarkets: it has its advantages, but there are also disadvantages and privacy risks. The Dutch privacy supervisor sent a formal warning to a Dutch supermarket because of its use of facial recognition. When are you allowed to apply facial recognition, and is it out of sight for supermarkets? I Chu Chao, IT…
Why are musicians not yet paid for their music through Blockchain? Recently, a student from the International Music Management program interviewed me about the possibilities for the use of Blockchain technology in the music industry. The main question is: What are the main (legal) obstacles for the application of Blockchain in the music industry? Data…
Restricting online sales is risky business The European Commission fined fashion company Guess €40 million. The reason for this large fine was because Guess had forbidden its retailers to advertise online, and to sell Guess products online to consumers in other EU countries. This kind of online sales blocking is called “geo-blocking”, and it allowed…
What’s up with that ‘Article 13’ and ‘Upload filter’ thing? Since 17 April 2019, we have a new European law (directive) about copyrights in Europe, let’s call it the new Copyright Directive. This new Copyright Directive did not arrive without a fight. There have been many protests, both offline and online, against the so-called ‘Article…
AI involves huge amounts of (personal) data There is a growing use of Chatbots and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in business that perform automated tasks that used to be performed by humans. Some examples of AI applications are in: image, voice or facial recognition, customer communication (chatbots) and automated decision-making. AI applications need to be “fed”…
Less distinction between advertisement and social media In 2019, consumers will watch more online than television, and it will become easier to buy products directly on social media, instead of webshops (‘Social Commerce’). In order to appear authentic, companies will also hire more ‘influencers’ to promote their products, who post content that do not look…
Voice commerce rises, legal challenges too It’s estimated that there will be 21.4 million smart speakers by 2020. Currently, 22% of smart speaker owners in the US have purchased something using their devices. Voice commerce sales reached $1.8 billion last year, with the potential to reach $40 billion in 2022. Voice commerce will also rise in Europe, which…
New year, new technologies, new legal aspects If you want to apply a new technology for your business, then you also need to know the legal consequences of these technologies. In this blogpost, I share with you my personal Top 3 legal trends in technology for 2019: Using Voice to buy products, or ‘Voice Commerce’…