Europe adapts product liability rules to the digital age and the circular economy

The Council of the European Union has adopted a Directive to update EU liability rules to adapt them to today's digitally-enabled products and an increasingly circular economy model. The new Directive will make it easier for injured consumers to claim damages in a court. This update also addresses the difficulties injured parties face in gathering evidence to prove liability, especially when it comes to new technologies. Moreover, they do not only benefit consumers, as they also encourage the deployment and uptake of new technologies and provide legal clarity and a level playing field for manufacturers.

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• Digital economy The definition of ‘product’ is extended to include digitally manufactured files and software. Like any other economic operator, when acting as such, online platforms can also be held liable in relation to a defective product sold on their platform.
• Circular economy. Where the repair or improvement of a product is carried out outside the control of the original manufacturer, the company or person who modified the product should be held responsible.
• Provision of evidence The right to compensation is facilitated by ensuring that injured persons claiming compensation before a national court can request access to the relevant evidence available to the manufacturer to substantiate the claim.
• Products purchased from manufacturers in third countries. In order to ensure that consumers are compensated for damage caused by a product manufactured outside the EU, the company importing the product or the EU representative of the foreign manufacturer may be held liable for damage.
• Burden of proof Where the injured consumer encounters excessive difficulties in proving the defectiveness of the product or the causal link between the defectiveness of the product and the damage, the court may decide that the plaintiff only has the burden of proving the probability that the product was defective or that the defect caused the damage.

Source of information: Council of the European Union.