Privity:
- : a relationship between persons who successively have a legal interest in the same right or property
- : an interest in a transaction, contract, or legal action to which one is not a party arising out of a relationship to one of the parties
- : private or joint knowledge of a private matter
especially : cognizance implying concurrence [Merriam-Webster]
Noted in “Cybersecurity’s Third Rail: Software Liability,” Jim Dempsey, Lawfare:
Some software companies will likely object. But in urging that responsibility should be placed on those best positioned to reduce risk, the administration is merely applying an old principle to the now-matured software sector. Early in the 20th century, the automobile industry was about where the computer software industry is today. Automobile makers then, as software developers do now, disclaimed liability for any flaws in their products. We sell to dealers, not to consumers, they argued, so end users don’t have the “privity of contract” with us needed to sue. And anyhow, we’re not liable for the tires or the brakes or any of the other components, since we didn’t make those. We just assembled the car.
