Liability for Early Safety Obsolescence of IoT Devices due to Information Security Reasons

The manufacturer or dealer is obliged to ensure that the device is repaired during the warranty period. In some countries, there is also an obligation to provide maintenance and spare parts for a certain number of years after the warranty period expires. However, the regulations do not specify any obligation to provide security upgrades to IoT and/or other devices connected to the Internet (e.g., household routers that connect most citizens to the Internet). For example, what if a serious security flaw is discovered a few years after purchase in the communication protocol that the expensive IoT device uses? The manufacturer has no obligation to provide safety upgrades after the warranty period has expired. Such practices lead to serious security breaches. Therefore, we believe that such a practice is not appropriate, neither technologically, nor ecologically, and it violates the fundamental principle of conscientiousness and honesty in obligatory relations, known since Roman law, according to which in dealing with the other party one should act with confidence and respect to the person and interests of the other party. In this paper, we would like to explain the existence of the problem of the early safety obsolescence of devices from the view of information security and make proposals for improving legal regulation that would reduce the rapid obsolescence of devices in terms of safety.