Consumer Rights Bill

Debate between Baroness King of Bow and Lord Knight of Weymouth

Monday 20th October 2014 Grand Committee

[Baroness King of Bow (Lab)]

My Lords, this is an interesting group of amendments. “Oh no, it’s not”, I hear you say. Oh yes, it is. It is interesting because it relates to the fact that digital content is different from most other retail goods in so far as consumers cannot hold it in their hands. However, these amendments add more exemptions to areas where digital goods must be of satisfactory quality.

I will not speak at length on this amendment or the other amendments in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, but it seems worth reiterating the peculiar nature of digital content, which is why these amendments arise. It is hard to imagine any other area of retail where a manufacturer would sell you a good when they know it is almost certainly going to have problems—it is almost certainly going to be defective in some way. Digital software is a strange anomaly because, as we heard, computer coding means that there are virtually always bugs to fix. We do not think it is abnormal any more, for instance, when Apple releases a new operating system such as iOS8 and, for whatever reason, our computing equipment is—to use the technical term—stuffed. My iPad is no longer working ever since I downloaded iOS8. There was actually an even more appropriate technical term to use but I did not think it was parliamentary.

The point here is that the Bill must tread a careful balance. On the one hand, we must not create a legal framework which is permissive towards digital content providers selling products that are simply not fit for purpose. On the other, we do not want to stop innovation and modification in the fast and frenetic world of technological advance and software downloads. In light of this, will the Minister ensure that any amendments of this nature do not tip the balance away from the consumer and towards the digital content provider? Most consumers struggling with technology feel that it is already unevenly balanced. My noble friend Lord Stevenson used the term “asymmetry”, which is very apt. Notwithstanding this, however, we recognise that with complex software it is impossible to give 100% guarantees. Therefore, it seems reasonable to say that where minor defects in software do not affect the overall functionality of the product, that digital content should not be deemed unsatisfactory. We look forward to the Minister providing further clarity on this issue because, as she pointed out, this is about getting the rulebook right for the 21st century. At present, we are not entirely clear what the rules are.

[Lord Knight of Weymouth]

My Lords, last Tuesday I facilitated part of an event at BAFTA organised by Innotech. One of the speakers was a young man, Jamie Woodruff, who has autism but probably earns a good income from being what I think is described as a white-hat hacker. He is a benign hacker who hacks into computer systems but has an ethical agreement whereby he gives people 28 days’ notice to resolve the security problems. If they do not resolve them, he can publish the problems. He did a live hack during the event to show how easy it is to hack into websites and expose the weaknesses that many sites have. That raises a question in my mind about quality.

I raise this issue to give the Minister an opportunity to say a little more about Clause 34(3) in respect of how quality is defined in this context. The word “safety” is used in Clause 34(3)(c). A company may have a business-to-consumer relationship in the course of which it collects a whole bunch of data. The service may be of very high quality in terms of what is described and what the consumer pays for. Indeed, the whole experience may be fine but subsequently it transpires that that business has not bothered to make the consumer’s personal data secure, it is hacked into and they lose their personal data. Does the word “safety” cover that scenario so that the consumer is protected and can have proper redress against that company?