Effective regulation of emerging technologies, like the domestic internet of things (IoT) and the underpinning algorithms, requires a range of approaches. In this paper we focus on the use of technology design as a regulatory tool. Within IT law, there has long been recognition that technology design can be used to shape and regulate individual behaviour (Lessig, 2006; Reidenberg, 1998). In this paper, we assert that regulation, as a concept, has broadened sufficiently that designers are now regulators. Accordingly, we need deeper understanding of their epistemological positions to better situate their role within technology regulation. Accordingly, we look at a specific domain of design, human computer interaction (HCI), and three prominent concepts from this community. We present these concepts to reframe regulatory dimensions of domestic IoT showing what HCI designers can offer as regulators, and more broadly, highlighting channels for conceptual alignment of the HCI and IT law communities.Understanding how technologies impact rights of users, and how designers can respond effectively, requires a turn to the context of use. The user centric focus of HCI can provide valuable perspectives on designing effective regulatory strategies. Furthermore, we argue current models of technology regulation in IT law do not give sufficient weight to the lived, contextual experiences of how users interact with technologies in situ.To understand what an HCI led approach can offer IT law and technology regulation, we focus on three prominent concepts: trajectories (Benford et al, 2009), affordances (Norman, 2013) and provenance. We reframe these design concepts within the context of regulation.