Abstract
Current products liability law is not equipped to handle products in the age of data. The potential for harm was traditionally coupled with the product: wherever the product went, the potential for harm followed. As the product proceeded down the supply chain—from the manufacturer to the wholesaler, to the retailer, and then to the consumer—the risk of harm went with it. Data collected from consumers carries a different risk. Data products originate with a person who is often the consumer of a physical product in the traditional supply chain. That data product is then transmitted to another entity, which is often the manufacturer of the physical product that the consumer purchased. The potential for harm, however, stays with the consumer because she is the one that suffers from her data being stolen or made public. Thus, in a data breach, the collector does not suffer harm—the original consumer does.
Last Page
52
Recommended Citation
Mason Storm,
When the Consumer Becomes the Product: Utilizing Products Liability Principles to Protect Consumers from Data Breaches,
29
Rich. J.L. & Tech
1
(2024).
Available at:
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/jolt/vol29/iss1/1