Technology liability: Lessons from Wimbledon’s Hawk-Eye failure

Technology liability took centre stage when Wimbledon’s electronic line-calling system glitched this year, not due to a software bug, but because of human error. An operator accidentally disabled a bank of Hawk-Eye cameras mid-match, forcing officials to replay points and issue a public apology. While the system didn’t break, the trust in it did.

This high-profile hiccup reveals a critical truth: automating decisions doesn’t erase liability – it shifts it, highlighting some critical takeaways for businesses who are looking to improve efficiency with automation:

• Are your people your weakest link? Hawk-Eye didn’t fail – it was switched off. One mis-click exposed flaws in tech, training, and contracts. If you use automation, you need more than good software: ensure contracts, staff training, and fallback plans are fit for purpose and watertight.
• Is your automation designed to recover from failures? Wimbledon immediately removed the shutdown toggle – a brilliant, regulator-friendly move. While it might seem counterintuitive, removing this single point of failure was, in itself, a form of strengthening the system’s guardrails. Effective automation relies on thoughtfully designed safeguards – like alerts, fail-safes, and controlled manual overrides – that support real-world use while maintaining safety and compliance. Without them, your system is exposed.
• Is your data protection up to scratch? Hawk-Eye’s visual and timing data counts as personal data under UK GDPR, so if your system is high-risk, you’ll need a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA). Automated decisions with legal effects must include human review. Additionally, you must still encrypt data, maintain logs, and report breaches to the ICO within 72 hours.
• Do your contracts clearly assign liability? Following a glitch, your service level agreements should detail uptime guarantees, system health monitoring, response protocols, and explicit fail-safe enforcement mechanisms. Liability clauses must clearly assign responsibility for losses, from broadcast interruption to reputational harm. Most importantly, specify exactly who is permitted to disable the system, and under what circumstances.
• Does your insurance cover tech failures? Most UK tech organisations have Professional Indemnity and Technology Errors and Omissions insurance, but cover varies. Some exclude configuration errors – exactly the risk seen at Wimbledon. Ensure your policy includes business interruption coverage, suitable coverage limits (e.g., £10m), and continuous, backdated, and run-off protection for system or provider changes.
• Can your systems prove what happened? Timestamped logs helped Wimbledon prove what happened. Your systems should do the same. Ensure contracts guarantee access to audit data, as transparency is your best defence.
• Are your people trained and your controls tested? You’re still liable for your automated systems. Without appropriate staff training or manual controls, you risk negligence. The UK’s AI and Cyber-Security Codes of Practice recommend oversight, logging, and risk checks – build them in now to stay compliant.
• When was your last tech fire drill? Resilience requires ongoing effort, including audits, outage drills, system tests, and crisis communication plans. Treat it like a fire drill for your tech stack.

To help your business manage the potential risks from technology adoption, you should ask the following questions:

Area	What to ask
Data protection	Do we conduct DPIAs? Are logs available? Can we respond within 72h?
Contracts	Do SLAs define uptime and alerts? Are liability limits realistic?
Training	Are staff trained, and are oversight protocols in place?
Insurance	Are tech faults and configuration errors covered? Is the coverage continuous and retroactive?
Governance	Who can override systems? How often are drills run?

Final word

Wimbledon’s same-day apology and software fix did more than calm fans – it may have helped reduce legal exposure. In the UK, silence or spin often backfires. Swift, sincere comms are not just good PR – they’re good risk management.

It's important to remember, though, that automation doesn’t remove liability – it shifts it. From sport to finance, legal risks remain. Build resilience with clear contracts, oversight, insurance, and response plans.

Our commercial solicitors can help build legal resilience into your contracts and service design, while our data protection solicitors ensure your automated systems stay compliant.