The European Commission has launched a public consultation about the potential benefits of ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) and whether it requires legal and ethical frameworks to curb potential abuses.
The Commission seeks to know what framework is needed to unleash the potential economic and societal benefits of the IoT while ensuring an adequate level of control of the devices gathering, processing and storing information.
The information it requires concerned includes users’ behavioural patterns, location and preferences.
According to the Commission’s estimate an average person has at least 2 objects connected to the Internet which is is expected to grow to 7 by 2015 with 25 billion wirelessly connected devices globally and by 2020 that number could double to 50 billion.
Citing an example, the comission said, "if a university teacher cancels a morning lecture because they are sick, students’ alarm clocks and coffee machines could automatically be reset, giving them an extra hour in bed."
"If an elderly person forgets to take an essential pill, a warning text message could be sent to a close family member, or even to a local emergency centre, so that somebody could call round to check that everything was ok," it added.
European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes 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,"Kroes said.
Keeping in mind the economic and societal potential of the IoT, the commission wants a level playing field where ‘all players can compete on an equal footing, without gate keepers and locked-in users’.
The Commission invited opinions on main issues like privacy, security, ethics, and liability, including security of IoT supported infrastructure with an intension to develop a regulatory framework.
Consultation results will be made available by summer 2013.
