Lex Machina:Techno-regulatory mechanisms and “rules by design"

Abstract

The lure of technologies of perfect enforcement can be appealing to the public and irresistible to regulators. In this article, the author investigates both the phenomenon of ‘techno-regulation’, and the concerns it has generated, with a particular focus upon the geography of modern areas, road traffic and online interactions. The author makes three claims about techno-regulatory measures (TRMs). First, that they are already widespread, and likely to become more so as our lives become more urbanized and technologized. Second, that while come concerns about TRMs may be overstated or lacking in normative substance, there are valid reasons to be concerned about at least some examples of this trend. And third, that there are a number of questions we should ask about any proposed TRM, the answers to which should inform our institutions about its introduction. The article concludes that it may be the more apparently innocuous, insidious or invisible measures that should concern us most.<br/