IoT takes centre stage
CBD Consultancy and Law2020 held a one day conference on October 17th, 2016 to discuss the law and regulation relating to Internet of Things (IoT). The seminar featured a line-up of experts from the region who talked about the latest legal developments, benefits, opportunities and risks. The conference got the attendees to think about the need to develop sophisticated laws and regulations to match the speed at which the ‘fourth industrial revolution’ of IoT is advancing.
The key note address was delivered by Diana Hammade, founder and managing partner of IALS. Speakers and panelists talked about the application of IoT on the business and industry, the key national and international legal and regulatory issues impacting UAE and the rest of the world, preparing for changes brought about by IoT, the creation, operation and enforcement of smart contracts within a blockchain, the risks involved with data protection and security of IoT and managing the risk of of cyber security.
Michael Twomey, director of legal training of Law2020 shared his thoughts on the choice of topic for the forum, “We hear a lot about the attractiveness, economical and social benefits of the internet of things however there isn’t much conversation about the law and regulation, hence the choice of topic for the seminar. Law and regulation is especially important for cities like Dubai, who is set to become a smart city soon. This means millions of interconnected devices – we need to think about who regulates it, what happens when the security of data is compromised, what law is applied and so on. The conference provided a platform for lawyers to have interactive discussions with experts on the potential of IoT.”
Helen Barett, partner of CBD Consultancy talked about their plans, “Our core business is training. We recognise the need for international lawyers to maintain that level of education. As CBD and Law2020 are accredited, we are able support the Government of Dubai initiative for earning CLPD points and in that we work closely with the Dubai Legal Affairs Department. We are working on a number of legal training courses which we will be delivering soon to meet the academic requirements.” Twomey further added that they have planned a training session on smart contracts as there has been a question raised as to whether lawyers may need to learn to code in the future to draft these smart contracts. Helen stressed on the need for for having policies and procedures in place to further mitigate the risk of cyber security and date protection, rather than only focusing on the preventive side of the issue.
