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3 - On Law’s Governance of Technology

from Part I - Discontent with Law’s Governance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2025

Roger Brownsword
Affiliation:
King's College London
Larry A. DiMatteo
Affiliation:
University of Florida
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Summary

This chapter examines three reasons for discontent with law’s governance of technology. Reservations concern the exercise of legal powers, the convenience of legal regulations, and prestige. The analysis is supplemented with the impact that the pace of technological innovation has on legal systems and the distinction between internal and external problems of legal governance. The internal problems regard the efficacy, efficiency, and overall soundness of the normative acts; the external problems are related to the claims of further regulatory systems in society, such as the forces of the market, or of social customs. By following the recommendations of Leibniz in the sixth paragraph of his Discourse on Metaphysics, the overall idea is to discuss the simplest possible hypothesis to attain the richest world of phenomena. Discontent with law’s governance of technology is indeed a complex topic with manifold polymorphous ramifications.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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