Owned

Owned explains how the increasing implementation of smart technology in our world today has changed the nature of property. Fairfield explains property theory and the legal regime of online ownership as it ties to the 'Internet of Things' - the interconnected system of digital technology as controlled by corporations who own the software needed to run these devices.

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In this compelling examination of the intersection of smart technology and the law, Joshua A. T. Fairfield explains the crisis of digital ownership - how and why we no longer control our smartphones or software-enable devices, which are effectively owned by software and content companies. In two years we will not own our 'smart' televisions which will also be used by advertisers to listen in to our living rooms. In the coming decade, if we do not take back our ownership rights, the same will be said of our self-driving cars and software-enabled homes. We risk becoming digital peasants, owned by software and advertising companies, not to mention overreaching governments. Owned should be read by anyone wanting to know more about the loss of our property rights, the implications for our privacy rights and how we can regain control of both.