Dimensions of Technology Regulation

This volume represents the proceedings of an international conference organised by the Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT) in Tilburg, the Netherlands (2010). Like the conference, it brings together a wide range of international scholars from a variety of disciplines to shed light on the multiple dimensions of technology regulation. The volume presents these different perspectives in an innovative way, visualising the emerging discipline of technology regulation as a multidimensional space. This volume explores a range of issues in the fields of nanomaterials and nano-medicine, biotechnology, chemicals, and ICT, as well as overarching topics such as innovation regimes, risk governance, and responsive regulation. By grouping the analyses along four dimensions - type of technology, type of regulation, innovation, and time - this book allows both scholars and practitioners to explore the space of technology regulation along new lines and to identify new possibilities for regulatory action and future research. Technological developments pose enormous challenges for regulators. Not only do regulators need to find an optimal balance between protecting fundamental values and public goods and the stimulation of creativity and innovation; but they need to do so in a way that keeps pace with the speed and pervasive nature of technological developments. Technology regulation is thus emerging as an important field of interdisciplinary research. This book charts the multifarious challenges of new technologies and possible regulatory responses from a multidisciplinary perspective.