Washington, DC—As consumers and businesses eagerly anticipate a future in which next-generation autonomous vehicles (AVs) change the definition of mobility as we know it, global automakers and technology companies are investing heavily in AV research and development. Yet the laws and regulations governing the technology and its deployment are rapidly evolving and becoming increasingly complex, leaving unanswered questions around safety, liability, privacy and security.

Drawing on the knowledge and resources of its global, multidisciplinary Autonomous Vehicles practice, Dentons —  the world’s largest law firm — today released a new report, "Global Guide to Autonomous Vehicles 2020," to closely examine front-burner issues, regulatory and policy changes, new legal precedents and the leading global trends shaping the sector.

The guide focuses on seven countries — the United States, Australia, Canada, China, Germany, New Zealand and the United Kingdom — whose governments or automotive and technology industries have taken unique approaches to supporting the nascent autonomous vehicles industry. For each country, the report examines the regulatory landscape; driverless vehicle testing and deployment; liability; data privacy and security; and telecommunications and 5G.

Some key findings across the globe include:

1. Australia requires significant investment to upgrade infrastructure, including communications and data access. Some municipalities are actively working toward this effort with defined plans of action and budget estimates.
2. Ontario leads testing and developing AV technology in Canada, while the federal government has taken on a leadership role to ensure consistency across all jurisdictions.
3. The Chinese government has taken multiple steps to prepare national infrastructure for autonomous vehicles, including defining action plans, publicly soliciting opinions on strategy, promoting relevant research and preparing the streets for autonomous transit.
4. Germany has established a national strategy for AVs and plans for their ethical use, but its federated structure may threaten consistency at the country level.
5. New Zealand maintains its position that it will not engage in legislative reform until autonomous vehicles are closer to being commercially available.
6. Recognizing a communications framework will be essential for AVs, the U.K. has developed a focused strategy to become a global leader in 5G technology, including spectrum allocation.

"Each of the key areas we analyzed comes with its own specific opportunities and challenges — for example, as consumers become more savvy about the risks of unsecured personal data, how do we ensure AV-related consumer data remains private while still maximizing its uses for technological improvements?" said Eric Tanenblatt, Global Chair of Public Policy and Regulation, Dentons and leader of the firm’s Autonomous Vehicles group. "As the driverless revolution shifts into fifth gear, companies looking to develop, deploy and scale autonomy must consider such uncertainties."

The U.S. faces similar challenges to countries around the world. U.S.-specific findings include:

1. There is no federal regulatory framework currently in place to address autonomous vehicle testing and deployment. As a result, testing and deployment is regulated by a patchwork of state-centric laws. Forty states and the District of Columbia have either passed autonomous vehicle legislation or are operating under executive orders.
2. Expect driving risk and associated liability to shift to manufacturers — potentially disintermediating insurance companies — as a vehicle’s proprietary "brain" makes more driving decisions.
3. As connected AVs become increasingly operational, the focus on AV data privacy and information security standards will also increase, but a federal data privacy and information security law is unlikely in the near future.
4. The ongoing embrace of 5G will determine which countries lead the autonomous revolution. The U.S. is not alone in the pursuit of 5G; Chinese carrier Unicom has 5G coverage in 50 cities, and Europe aims to have 5G connectivity in at least one major city in each European Union (EU) member state by 2020.

Dentons boasts the world’s first and largest multi-disciplinary, multi-jurisdictional autonomous vehicle practice, with the expertise and footprint necessary to provide sound legal, technical and policy advice to automakers and manufacturers, technology startups, fleet operators and auto liability insurers or finance companies. To view the full 2020 Global AV report, click here.

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