What are some of the legal challenges that IT companies face in the development and use of emerging technologies in their products?

IT companies commonly face challenges in the development and use of emerging technologies in their products. To take just a few:

There is inadequate treatment of personal identifiable information. Companies do not have a robust privacy team knowledgeable of privacy and data protection regulations. There are no preventive actions implemented and the products are sold in breach of such laws collection.

Also, products use technology with poor maturity. Technology is so new that there is a high probability that technology behaves in an unstable manner, which could cause cyber risks.

Moreover, emerging technology could danger human beings. For example, when technology does not contain rules that protect human wellbeing, it is highly risky. Adequate coding of artificial intelligence should include ethical standards. There is also the issue that emerging technology could increase fraudulent activities impersonating individuals, as frauds can be committed easily using a smart phone or computer with everything being automated.

In what ways do you see the in-house legal role evolving in your region over the next few years?

The role of in-house lawyers has already evolved. We are required to impersonate real business partners to the commercial teams to achieve the company’s goals, rather than just pointing out applicable regulations. Lawyers should be skilled in advanced negotiation, understanding the five different styles of negotiation which cannot be performed by a computer. In-counsel should also be able to look at future trends, such as operating in a metaverse.

Covid has evidenced the need for in-house lawyers to lead crisis management programs. In-house should be knowledgeable to lead the ERM process (Enterprise Risk Management). Good management of a crisis can only be achieved with a strong, knowledgeable leader that has the right skills. Covid has meant companies are downsizing their footprint and therefore not having physical offices. Likewise, in-house counsel will need to provide good legal advice to draft and implement internal policies for employees to work from home.

What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

Our company was split into two independent and separate companies – the first one being NielsenIQ which is private company dedicated to market research of consumption of consumer goods, and the second one Nielsen which is public company dedicated to measurement of media consumption. The split involved a tremendous amount of strategy, counsel, and performance of actions in more than 100 countries, out of which 19 are based in Latin America and under my responsibility. After the split, NielsenIQ was bought by a private fund and our current owners Avent. These sole two transactions were critical for building the future of the company. It involved an important investment of time, resources, skills, and legal knowledge and team effort interacting with other areas such as finance, HR, controllership, sales, sourcing, operations, security.