New regulations protect consumers and the environment from zombie tech

Written By Joe Macleod

High technology is no longer exempt from physical accountability. As legislative and judicial threads converge, software is now classified under the same product liability standards as hardware, forcing companies to address the digital waste and "zombie tech" left behind when support is abruptly pulled.

The Rise of "Zombie Tech": How pulling digital support, APIs, or AI models turns working physical devices into immediate electronic waste.

Software as a Physical Product: How new regulations and strict product liability lawsuits equate software lifespans with hardware accountability.

Connecting Tech and Sustainability Teams: Why corporate sustainability leads must work directly with tech and engineering teams to design brand-led, compliant offboarding experiences.

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Joe Macleod

Joe Macleod is founder of the worlds first customer ending business. A veteran of product development industry with decades of experience across service, digital and product sectors.

Head of Endineering at AndEnd. TEDx Speaker. Wired says “An energetic Englishman, Macleod advises companies on how to game out their endgames. Every product faces a cycle of endings. It's important to plan for each of them. Not all companies do." Fast Company says “Joe Macleod wants brands to focus on what happens to products at the end of their life cycle—not just for the environment but for the entire consumer experience.”

He is author of the Ends book, that iFixIt called “the best book about consumer e-waste”. And the new book –Endineering, that people are saying “defines and maps out a whole new sub-discipline of study”. The DoLectures consider the Endineering book one of the best business books of 2022.

https://www.andend.co
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Why we overlook endings. And why we shouldn’t. | Joe Macleod | TEDxStockholm