Legal Risks Underlying Human-Computer interface (HCI) Design: A Comparative Study on Macao vs. Major Jurisdictions

Human-computer interface (HCI) design is an essential aspect of modern technology development, which involves the interaction between humans and computers. HCI design can pose legal risks that may result in significant legal liabilities and consequences for any organization adopting the designs. From the standpoint of an HCI designer as opposed to a legal researcher, this article analyzes the legal risks underlying HCI design and the related regulatory framework in the small jurisdiction Macao in comparison with those in some major jurisdictions, including the United States, the European Union (EU), and mainland China. Relevant statutes, acts, and academic literature are drawn on to support the analysis. Categories of the aforesaid risks are primarily identified as intellectual property, privacy and personal data protection, accessibility, liability for harm, and cybersecurity breaches, only the first two of which are to be elucidated in this article due to its length limitation. The following findings are highlighted: Macao’s IP regime does not include provisions very specific to HCI designs, unlike the United States, the EU, and mainland China. Macao’s privacy and personal data protection framework is less comprehensive than the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU and mainland China’s Cybersecurity Law, Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), and Data Security Law (DSL). In particular, the GDPR additionally mandates “data protection by design and default,” and mainland China’s Cybersecurity Law, PIPL, and DSL are well integrated with cyberspace sovereignty, national security, social and public interests, national sovereignty, and development interests of the state. In summary, in principle, the legal framework in the small jurisdiction Macao governing the legal risks associated with HCI is by and large in line with those in major and substantially larger jurisdictions. Notwithstanding, the former is in general a general miniature of the latter and comparatively devoid of express provisions very specific to and comprehensively covering HCI design. Subject to further research’s confirmation, this phenomenon of generalization and miniaturization may be true of many other small jurisdictions worldwide as reasoned in this article.