Tread Slowly on IoT Regulation, Executives Urge Feds
The federal government should tread slowly in creating regulations for IoT technologies, industry executives said Wednesday during a Congressional IoT Caucus event. “This is something that has evolved over time, and now we're at a point where we can really have a conversation about where things are today and where they're headed,” said Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash. DelBene co-founded the Congressional IoT Caucus with House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., earlier this year (see 1501130038).
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The growth of IoT technology has potential implications for a wide range of laws, most notably on the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), DelBene said. The House Judiciary Committee's Homeland Security Subcommittee is considering the Email Privacy Act (HR-699), which would amend ECPA by requiring the government to obtain a search warrant to require a service provider to disclose the contents of emails or other private communications.
IoT is still in a “nascent state” and has an opportunity to transform major portions of the economy, making it critical that the federal government not “create a regulatory framework that stifles innovation,” said Cisco Consulting Services Vice President-North and South America Seth Siegel. IoT has the potential to affect many areas of the economy and is thus open to association with a variety of incidents, particularly those on cybersecurity and privacy, he said. But the government shouldn't regulate IoT in reaction to particular incidents, Siegel said.
The private sector is already “highly incentivized” to move forward on development of IoT, but industry will be able to thrive only if the government applies a “light-touch regulatory approach” on IoT issues, said Belkin International Chief Technology Officer Brian Van Harlingen. Addressing IoT issues in legislation too soon has the potential for unintended consequences, he said, saying legislation in Europe has made development of IoT there “a little more challenging.” IoT has the potential to revolutionize smart cities technology in areas like resource utilization via technology that monitors water and electricity usage to avoid outages, Van Harlingen said.
Federal agencies and Congress can play a role in IoT, but it should be through efforts to coordinate IoT standards and IoT interoperability, said Qualcomm Vice President-Government Affairs Steve Crout. He said the National Institute of Standards and Technology's recent cybersecurity work, including NIST development of the Cybersecurity Framework, emphasized facilitating industry-driven solutions and voluntary standards over more rigid rules. Crout said any government involvement in IoT should “start small,” particularly in building smart cities technologies. He said the Washington, D.C., government started to employ IoT technology by embedding chips in its parking meters. Starting small allows cities to begin to get used to IoT technologies on a limited budget and allows the public to accept IoT technology in city services at a gradual pace, Crout said.