Stacy-Ann Elvy

In 2022, the American Law Institute and the Uniform Law Commission approved important amendments to the Uniform Commercial Code to address various technological developments. This essay will explore the potential role of these revisions to the Uniform Commercial Code and other related sources of law in helping to protect consumer privacy in the Internet of Things setting. Internet of Things devices often rely on an ongoing provision of services and software from companies in order to function optimally. This ongoing relationship combined with the surveillance capabilities of many Internet of Things devices allows device manufacturers, service providers and associated entities to collect a wealth of data about device users and others. The Uniform Commercial Code has the capacity to play a central role in determinations regarding liability for problematic Internet of Things devices and systems. I argue that with some improvements the existing implied warranty of merchantability under the Uniform Commercial Code and other sources of commercial law could serve as important data protection enforcement mechanisms.