Category Archives: All Articles

Regulating alcohol consumption in the absence of a medically determined safe level

According to The Lancet “alcohol use is a leading risk factor for global disease burden and causes substantial health loss”1. In fact, it is the seventh leading risk factor globally for mortality and disease finding that “the risk of all-cause mortality, and of cancers specifically, rises with increasing levels of consumption, and the level of consumption that minimises health loss is zero”2. These results suggest that alcohol control policies and regulations that have traditionally focused on “responsible” or “safe” alcohol consumption might need to be revised worldwide, refocusing on efforts to lower overall population-level consumption. Some states (eg. Australia) are currently reviewing their alcohol consumption control regime and with The Lancet’s recent publication more jurisdictions are expected to follow. This howtoregulate article examines the international and national alcohol consumption control regulations to determine good regulatory techniques that could assist states’ reviews of existing regulation. Continue reading Regulating alcohol consumption in the absence of a medically determined safe level →

Empowerments (Part I): typology

To ensure the good application of law, authorities must have empowerments. However, we have not yet found any systematic presentation of types of empowerments. We aim at closing this gap by this article. We will see that the focus on empowerment permits a new, complementary view on what regulation should contain. This complementary view can be used to double-check whether draft regulation is complete. Continue reading Empowerments (Part I): typology →

Report on Artificial Intelligence: Part II – outline of future regulation of AI

This Part II of the howtoregulate Report on Artificial Intelligence presents regulatory approaches for minimizing the harms of artificial intelligence (AI), evidently without putting into question the utility of AI. What should regulation of Artificial Intelligence look like? The answer to this question depends on the goals of the regulator. As was previously outlined in Part I, much of the goals of states today is to focus on incentivizing innovative applications of AI or encouraging breakthrough AI research. We could imagine, however, that the average regulator might also consider such goals as avoiding the risk that AI research or technology leads to the eradication of humankind and reducing other major risks for human beings to the extent that the expected positive effect of AI is not disproportionately hampered. Furthermore, regulators might feel compelled to deal with particular risks linked to specific technological uses. Continue reading Report on Artificial Intelligence: Part II – outline of future regulation of AI →

Report on Artificial Intelligence: Part I – the existing regulatory landscape

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been placed front and centre in many countriesʼ economic strategies1, probably unsurprising as AI is one of the defining technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution2. Nascent AI regulation around the world today is characterised by soft approaches either aimed at incentivising innovation in the manufacturing or digital sectors or encouraging break through research. The ethical implications of AI are either regulated through specific AI codes in companies concerned with good corporate social responsibility, in research institutes (private or public) concerned with ethical research and innovation or not regulated at all. These AI ethical codes are not formally scrutinised by any public administration, nor are they legislatively required, and so it is difficult to assess the quality and effectiveness of such codes in minimising the negative implications of AI. The purpose of this howtoregulate report is to examine existing AI regulatory landscape (Part I) and present regulatory approaches for minimising the harms of AI (Part II – outline for future regulation of AI), evidently without putting into question the utility of AI. Continue reading Report on Artificial Intelligence: Part I – the existing regulatory landscape →

Tobacco control regulations: Combating the world’s leading preventable cause of death

Tobacco remains the leading preventable cause of death in the world today and accounts for around 12% of all adult deaths worldwide (more than 7 million people)1. Its effects are far-reaching and have implications along the supply chain: from the land used to grow tobacco instead of food, often in countries where food security is a concern, to the 63% of children of tobacco-growing families involved in child labor, to the environmental effects of smoke expelled into the air, the bystander and the smoker’s health2. This howtoregulate article focuses on tobacco control and regulations for the emerging tobacco alternative electronic cigarettes. Continue reading Tobacco control regulations: Combating the world’s leading preventable cause of death →

Countering “fake news”

Waves of parliament´s around the world are looking into the problem of “fake news”, including the UK Parliament1 (Green Paper: Internet Safety Strategy and Fake News Inquiry), the US Senate2 and the Singaporean Parliament3 (Green Paper: Deliberate Online Falsehoods). In early January 2018, the French President Macron said he would present a new law in order to fight the spread of “fake news”, which he said threatened democracies4. The Canadian Communications Security Establishment (CSE), in its report Cyber Threats to Canada´s Democratic Process, the first threat assessment of this kind in the world to be shared with the public said the Canadian Minister of Democratic Institutions5, states that: Continue reading Countering “fake news” →

Model Law on Research and Technology Risks: Part IV – A Prototype Regulation

The following prototype regulation shows that it is possible to cover all kinds of research and technology risks in one piece of regulation, making the currently practiced piece-meal approach superfluous. Compared with the practice of developing particular pieces of regulation e.g. for biotechnology, nuclear science, geo-engineering and always running behind the new technologies popping-up, this regulatory approach permits an easy handling and a faster and more complete coverage of research and technology risks. Continue reading Model Law on Research and Technology Risks: Part IV – A Prototype Regulation →

Regulating End of Life Choices: autonomy versus protection of the vulnerable

If there is a right to life, is there a right to not choose life? Many jurisdictions have regulations that enable patients to choose life-prolonging, life-shortening, or life-ending (for example do not resuscitate directives or removal of artificial feeding tubes) medical treatments at a certain end of life situations/choices. However, very few jurisdictions enable their citizens the choice to end their lives. Several countries are currently debating whether or not to enable their citizens to end their lives with the assistance of the state, and New Zealand is the most advanced in this process with its End of Life Choice Bill. This howtoregulate article examines the regulations of those jurisdictions that have developed end of life choices regulations on the basis of its complexity and the level of autonomy and protection afforded to those considering to end their life. Continue reading Regulating End of Life Choices: autonomy versus protection of the vulnerable →