To what extent do current and proposed legal frameworks sufficiently address the risks of technology-facilitated domestic abuse?
Domestic abuse is not new to this age, yet technology has enabled perpetrators of such abuse to take their acts of harassment and violence to new and unprecedented levels. While many of these efforts are concerned with ‘conventional’ cyber risks such as abuses on social media platforms and restrictions to devices such as laptops and phones, emerging “Internet of Things” (IoT) technologies such as ‘smart’ meters, locks, and cameras expand domestic violence victim’s risk trajectories further.
In response to these developments, UCL STEaPP researchers in collaboration with UCL’s Department of Computer Science are conducting a research study that analyses these evolving IoT privacy and security risks in the context of domestic violence and abuse. More specifically, the Gender and IoT research project – led by Dr Leonie Tanczer – studies the implications of “smart”, Internet-connected devices on gender-based domestic violence and abuse and explores what socio-technical measures will need to be implemented in order to mitigate against those risks.
In this episode of The Law of Tech Podcast, I explored the legal implications of technology-facilitated domestic abuse with Francesca Stevens, Research Assistant at the Gender and IoT project at UCL.
Francesca is part of a sub-project within the Gender and IoT research project which focuses on the applicability of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 (CMA), and analyses its relevance for technology-facilitated abuse. To learn more about this project and its results, check out the recent webinar on the topic here.
To find out more about the gender and IoT project, head over to the website https://www.ucl.ac.uk/steapp/research/digital-technologies-policy-laboratory/gender-and-iot. Here you can also subscribe to the monthly newsletter to keep up to date on their research progress, any latest developments in the space of technology-facilitated abuse and the IoT, as well as training and support opportunities!
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