XML as Code and Its Implications
May 11, 2009
I read Tom Espiner’s ZDNet article “EC Wants Software Makers Held Liable for Code” here. I have been thinking about his news story for a day or two. The passage that kept my mind occupied consists of a statement made by an ED official, Meglena Kuneva:
If we want consumers to shop around and exploit the potential of digital communications, then we need to give them confidence that their rights are guaranteed,” said Kuneva. “That means putting in place and enforcing clear consumer rights that meet the high standards already existing in the main street. [The] internet has everything to offer consumers, but we need to build trust so that people can shop around with peace of mind.
Software makers for some high profile products shift the responsibility for any problems to the licensee. The licensee is accountable but the software maker is not. I am not a lawyer, and I suppose that this type of thinking is okay if you have legal training. But what if XML is programmatic? What does that mean for authors who write something that causes some type of harm? What about software that generates content from multiple sources and one of those sources is defined as “harmful”?The blurring of executable code and executable content is a fact of online life today. Good news for lawyers. Probably not such good news for non lawyers in my opinion.
Stephen Arnold, May 11, 2009
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