E.U. Gets Ready to Regulate Internet of Things
Huge growth is expected in the number of connected devices. Many of these will be sensors, often capable of communicating with each other without the need for human intervention, creating a so-called “Internet of Things” (IoT).
The European Commission says it recognizes the huge potential benefits of the IoT, but also the threat to individual rights from all this data being gathered, processed and stored. Its reaction is to launch a public consultation with a deadline for responses of July 12.
In a press release Neelie Kroes, European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda, said:
An Internet of Things with intelligence embedded into everyday objects is the next big thing. I want to promote an Internet of Things that serves our economic and societal goals, whilst preserving security, privacy and the respect of ethical values.
V3 explains how the consultation process will begin:
The survey asks for opinions and concerns on matters ranging from personal privacy and identity protection to the role of the government in mandating information security and delivering reference architectures for systems.
The study is open to both citizens and businesses as well as advocacy groups and industry professionals.
That process will feed into a European Commission proposal, to be presented to national governments and the European Parliament in summer 2013, for a framework to control how the billions of devices gather, store and share data.
The questionnaire on the governance of the IoT, with supporting documents and useful links, is available on the European Commission website.
