Authorities in both the European Union and United States have taken significant steps toward crafting comprehensive government policies around the Internet of Things, in a sign the IoT market is maturing in an important way.
First up, the EU's move, as reported by V3:
The European Commission (EC) could subject makers of driverless cars and Internet of Things (IoT) systems to new rules that redefine how they generate data.
The Digitising European Industry - Reaping the full benefits of a Digital Single Market communications document outlined ambitions to work with member states and industry to “examine in greater detail the emerging issues of data ownership, access and re-use rules, including as regards data in an industrial context and especially data generated by sensors and other collecting devices”.
In effect, this means taking a closer look at how data is collected and used with driverless cars and IoT systems.
This will include exploring who owns the data generated by sensors used in industrial situations and how it is used and shared, as well as looking at the safety and liability challenges posed by drones and driverless cars.
Meanwhile, this week the US Department of Commerce announced it was seeking public comment on the "benefits, challenges and potential roles for the government in fostering the advancement of the Internet of Things," as Computerworld reports:
The Commerce Department began accepting comments Friday, opening a comment period that lasts until 5 p.m. ET on May 23. The government plans to make the responses -- likely to run into the thousands -- public, resulting in the nation's single largest knowledge dump about the future of technology and where Americans think it should go.
The focus on IoT is deceptively broad. Any IoT discussion will likely bring in all its related technologies processes: Robotics, automation on every level, widespread use of artificial intelligence tools, and the collection of incalculable amounts of data about every aspect of life.
In sum, the government wants to know how the IoT will impact life, job, security and privacy.
As Computerworld notes, this comment period follows the creation in January of a bipartisan Congressional Caucus on the Internet of Things:
It has two broad goals: to educate lawmakers about IoT and develop a policy role. In the Senate, lawmakers have their own bill, the DIGIT Act (Developing Innovation and Growing the Internet of Things), which would create a national working group to develop IoT policy recommendations.
While it could and likely will take years for IoT regulations and policies to crystallize in a broad-based way, the fact such proposals and efforts are happening is a good sign.
"It's interesting to see governments in both US and EU both reacting to an increasing understanding that the IoT is more than ubiquitous connectivity technology," says Constellation Research VP and principal analyst Andy Mulholland. "The focus has very strongly moved from sensors and sensing technology to the use and impact of the resulting data. Smart services and semi real-time data analytics are the first parts of the move towards an increasingly smart environment using cognitive reckoning and artificial intelligence."
Read Mulholland's ongoing, in-depth coverage of the IoT landscape at this link.
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