Regulating Unfair Commercial Practices in a Smart Contract Context

Emerging technologies can have an impact on legal frameworks that protect consumers. This articleinvestigates the impact of smart contract technology on the European rules regarding unfair commercial practices. It analyses the manner in which legislatures can respond to such new technologies and the impact these technologies can have on the principlesof functional equivalency and technological neutrality that underpin legislative efforts. This article suggeststhat the potential effects of smart contract technologyis such that their distinct nature must be taken into account when devising a legislative strategy aimed at modernising the law in order to ensure that the interests of consumers remain protected.It provides recommendations with regard to the manner in which the law can be designed in light of this goal and ensure that, firstly, the law is created in such a way that it can operate more consistently with governance through software and code whilst at the same time ensuring that legal enforcement is admissible in an environment governed by this technology.