Who is liable for damage caused by smart homes

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If damage is caused by unsafe smart home devices or applications, consumers often remain at a cost. No wonder: after all, the Product Liability Act is 30 years old.

Home automation security concerns and feature safe! 

Digital speech assistants, suction robots or other smart home applications are becoming increasingly popular. According to Bitkom, 31 percent of German citizens installed at least one smart home application last year. Smart lamps and lamps as well as smart radiator thermostats are particularly popular. Even intelligent door locks are increasingly being introduced into homes and houses, but how safe are the systems and who is liable for damage?

Product liability law barely covers Smart Home

However, if the supposed intelligent devices cause damage, consumers often stand alone. This is due to the product liability law in force in Germany, which is based on an EU directive dating from 1985. There are fundamental problems with the concept of error," says Florian Stößel of the Consumer Central Federation (VZBV).

For the law to work, there must be an explicit error in the product; in practice, this works poorly for smart home devices. On the one hand, software is not clearly covered by the product concept of the law, and on the other hand, consumers cannot identify possible defects themselves.


This is explained by an example: if you buy a cheese grater, you can check for yourself whether it is in order. If you want to buy a Smartlock - a locking system - this is not possible. "For the information required for testing is usually kept under lock and key.

If such a lock - such as a burglary involving theft - causes damage, it is therefore extremely difficult to hold the supplier accountable. In practice, this does not work," said the consumer protection activist, and potential liability claims were lost.

VZBV requests service certificates from suppliers

The VZBV therefore demands that consumers no longer have to prove faults in the product. Instead, suppliers should be held accountable: they would then have to prove that a product can be used without causing damage.

The Commission has been in the process of revising the product line for some time. There is still a great deal to be done," he said. Even if the liability claims exist, the trader must also be tangible.

This is often not the case for goods ordered via, for example, an online marketplace and not from the EU. For Stößel, the legislator is under an obligation here:  Online marketplaces must be held to account. "This would be possible, for example, through joint and several liability of the online market.

Experts warn of security problems of smart home

The Stiftung Warentest constantly tests smart home products. As a matter of principle, you can play through scenarios, which in the worst case can happen in the case of a hack or a product error, says project manager Benjamin Barkmeyer.

He sees dangers particularly elsewhere.

What if a supplier is insolvent, bought up or simply discontinues product support after a few years? ", ask Barkmeyer, then consumers would sometimes be left with a non-functional device.

Consumers can prevent damage?

Buyers of smart home devices can only protect themselves against such damages. However, damage can be prevented. Consumers should make sure that the components they wish to use do without an Internet connection."

This would ensure the operation of smart home products, for example in the event of internet failure or server problems. Barkmeyer advises that power cuts should also be considered when planning the networked home.

The security of a product also depends strongly on the availability of updates. However, according to Barkmeyer, it is not possible for consumers to recognize whether suppliers supply reliable and long-term updates that keep smart home products safe and functional.

Also interesting: You should know these 13 Smart Home terms

„As a rule of thumb, if the provider communicates transparently how long it will provide updates, this is a first good sign. But guarantees are given by the few," says Barkmeyer.

If you use smart home devices from different vendors, you can also incur disadvantages as a result of updates, Barkmeyer describes:  Then there is an update on one of these networked devices and suddenly the complicated control circuits that you have set up, Not the way you wanted. That’s annoying, of course."

What to do in case of damage?

Thomas Kriesel of the Bitkom advises who has suffered damage as a result of an unsafe smart product. Should damage be caused by a defective product in an individual case, the companies will compensate for such damage, insofar as they are legally responsible for causing the damage. “

In many cases, companies are also prepared to regulate damages on the basis of goodwill, without their legal responsibility having been proven. However, Kriesel stresses that smart home products generally have a high level of security. Manufacturers are always working hard to close security gaps through new malicious software as quickly as possible."