Giving Surveillance Capitalism a Makeover: Wearable Technology in the Fashion Industry and the Challenges for Privacy and Data Protection Law

Citation

Clubbs Coldron B, Noto La Diega G, Phipps-Rufus T & Stolte T (2023) Giving Surveillance Capitalism a Makeover: Wearable Technology in the Fashion Industry and the Challenges for Privacy and Data Protection Law. In: Routledge Handbook of Fashion Law. London: Routledge.

Abstract
In this chapter we explore the intersections between wearable computing, privacy, and data protection in the fashion industry. We provide a broad overview of the relationship between wearables, privacy, and data protection, and highlight the importance of considering both physical and digital wearables. Using a pragmatic combination of doctrinal legal research and empirical methods we reveal that, while the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) offers some protections, tensions and uncertainties persist. Specifically, we examine "invisible" fashion technology and its potential to create issues of continuing consent and non-user privacy as well as the potential for this development to increase the adoption of privacy-intrusive technologies in the fashion sector. The blurring of lines between public and private means that we need to reconsider notions of reasonable privacy expectations, reassert the importance of safeguarding privacy in smart fashion, and engage policy makers in ongoing discussions on the benefits and risks of personal data use.

Keywords
Fashion Law; Wearables; IoT; Privacy; data protection