{"id":79068,"date":"2026-02-23T10:34:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T09:34:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fhi.nl\/nieuws\/the-revised-product-liability-directive-software-is-now-a-product-in-law\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T10:34:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T09:34:19","slug":"the-revised-product-liability-directive-software-is-now-a-product-in-law","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/fhi.nl\/en\/news\/the-revised-product-liability-directive-software-is-now-a-product-in-law\/","title":{"rendered":"The revised Product Liability Directive, software is now a product in law"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\tThe revised Product Liability Directive, software is now a product in law\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\n\t\t\t\t
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The revised Product Liability Directive, software is now a product in law<\/h3>\n
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The EU Product Liability Directive (PLD), first adopted in 1985, is being fundamentally updated to reflect how products are built and deployed today. The key change is straightforward but far-reaching. Software and AI systems are now treated as products for the purpose of liability.<\/u><\/u><\/span><\/p>\n

Under the revised directive, consumers can seek compensation for harm caused by defective digital products without having to prove fault. This introduces strict liability for software, aligning it legally with physical goods.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why does this matter now?<\/h3>\n

The revised PLD complements the Cyber Resilience Act. While the CRA focuses on security and compliance before and during market placement, the PLD addresses what happens afterwards, when a product fails, is updated, or behaves in unexpected ways.<\/u><\/u><\/span><\/p>\n

For software teams, this shifts liability exposure to areas that were previously handled through contract or negligence law. Defects introduced by updates, flawed AI decision-making, and security vulnerabilities that lead to damage can all trigger liability, even in the absence of negligence.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Scope, broader than many expected<\/h3>\n

The directive applies to a wide range of digital products and systems, including:<\/p>\n