Newsletter Edition 89: Private tech companies now influence wars through digital infrastructure, raising urgent legal questions about corporate power, international law, and accountability.
I guess my question is what will happens to accountability in armed conflict when operational capability depends on such private tech that exists outside direct governmental command or military control?
Of course, states ought to retain some legal responsibility under international law, but we all know operational reliance on private systems introduces actors whose decisions influence outcomes without wartime obligations. The law, at least for now, still treats war as a state activity, but we cannot deny that modern conflict increasingly relies on corporate infrastructure (and most especially their tech).
The risk of not holding such private entities accountable is the actual problem in the world today.
Absolutely! Only a matter of time before the law catches up to these realities.
I guess my question is what will happens to accountability in armed conflict when operational capability depends on such private tech that exists outside direct governmental command or military control?
Of course, states ought to retain some legal responsibility under international law, but we all know operational reliance on private systems introduces actors whose decisions influence outcomes without wartime obligations. The law, at least for now, still treats war as a state activity, but we cannot deny that modern conflict increasingly relies on corporate infrastructure (and most especially their tech).