A recent TechCrunch article by Greg Epstein entitled ‘Will the future of work be ethical?” explores the growing need for tech ethics and highlights one of just a myriad of issues that have arisen within the TMT sector in recent years. While these issues may render consumers slightly anxious, they are likely to impact law firms positively by significantly increasing opportunities for the firm to advise technology and media clients.
In relation to tech ethics, a highly-scrutinised issue in the sector involves the consolidation of power into the hands of technology giants Facebook and Google. This has not only raised problems regarding data protection and trust on the consumer-facing side, but also poses a risk to other media companies who now have less access to advertising dollars. The former issue will see companies turn to law firms for regulatory advice. This is to ensure that they comply with GDPR, anti-trust, and data protection laws and do not fall to the same fate as Facebook (Cambridge Analytica). The latter issue has already seen established media companies (such as Vox Media and New York Media) merge in an effort to stay profitable amidst the advertising-war in the digital media landscape. Law firms will inevitably be involved in the M&A proceedings.
A further problem impacting the TMT sector, and subsequently posing an opportunity for law firms, is the rise of Augmented reality (“AR”) and the ways in which it must be regulated. AR is already being employed by a range of companies and institutions, from hospitals to established entities such as Apple. However, AR-related problems such as IP, copyright, privacy, and property concerns will be put to law firms to deal with, should Geofencing or government-supervised sandboxes not be enough.
Thus, any minor ripples in TMT will see an onrush of new clients to law firms, and will require legal professionals to have an increasing understanding of the technological forces shaping our society today.