New EU product liability directive includes digital products

A new EU product liability directive has been launched. New regulations now also apply to software manufacturers and cloud operators such as Microsoft and Amazon with regard to digital services and software. The EU is thus extending its push towards new regulations and directives in the digital age, including the AI directives.

New EU product liability directive renews 40-year-old regulations

The current product liability directive dates back to 1985, when digital software and online services as we know them today were at best the stuff of science fiction. Accordingly, these were naturally not taken into account at the time.

Having arrived in 2024, we are looking at a market that is flooded with digital offerings. Numerous industries have long been digitized. Especially, of course, the computer software sector. This is why there is a new EU Product Liability Directive that also covers "software and digital production files".

Specifically, the directive states:

- Applications

- Operating systems

- Computer programs

- Firmware

- AI systems

It does not matter whether they have to be stored and installed on a device or can be accessed in a cloud.

The only exceptions are free and open source software that is not used for commercial purposes.

What does the new EU Product Liability Directive say?

Among other things, the new EU Product Liability Directive takes up the General Product Safety Regulation, which was adopted in 2023. Manufacturers and providers of digital products must ensure that safety is guaranteed during use. On the one hand, this concerns safety in terms of the impact on other products and, in particular, cyber security.

The NIS2 directive also applies here, which stipulates a high level of cyber security for software of all kinds. If these requirements are not met, the developer is liable in case of doubt if the customer suffers damage.

Another point in the new guidelines is the responsibility for a fault-free product and the associated obligation to provide updates. Several points in time are decisive here, which go beyond the time at which the product is sold. The manufacturer can now also be held liable if a product becomes faulty due to a later update or if it remains faulty due to a failure to provide updates.

This liability also extends from the manufacturer and supplier to anyone who makes changes to a product. This applies in particular to suppliers of remanufactured products.

If a claim goes to court, the new EU Product Liability Directive may require manufacturers to disclose evidence. This could also mean that trade secrets about product functions must be made public.

The EU member states have until March 2026 to transpose the new EU Product Liability Directive into national law.

Learn service and project management with skill it

To comply with the new guidelines, many companies will have to adapt their project management a little. Interestingly, most companies are also using digital software such as ITIL® 4.

In our seminars, you will learn how to use the software or expand your knowledge to become a professional.

In the ITIL® 4 Foundation - Compact Course we show you the basics of working with the system that you learned in ITIL® 4 Foundation Practice with practical exercises. Or you can use your existing experience and expand it in our three-day course ITIL® 4 Direct, Plan and Improve.