Technology-mediated barriers, a counter-trend

Abstract

New technology generally increases the opportunities for people. That is however not always the case. This article draws attention to the intricate interplay between new technologies and legal regulation, sometimes leading to regulatory arrangements that create new barriers for some actors. Four cases are discussed that illustrate how barriers may arise. These cases concern GM seeds, large scale collection of telecommunications’ data by the NSA, copyright law and geo location technology. These cases highlight different causes for barriers to arise. The article tentatively formulates first thoughts on how the causes for the barriers can be characterised on a higher abstraction level.