mckennalong.commckennalong.com

Center for Policy on Emerging Technology

Dan Caprio, Senior Strategic Advisor, dcaprio@mckennalong.com

McKenna Long & Aldridge

July 28, 2011

Roundtable on the Internet of Things

• A collection of interconnected but local and private networks connected to the Internet

• A vision supporting networked services, systems and devices supporting business activities, societal benefits (e.g. the smarter planet and smarter grid), and personal life

The “Internet of Things”

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• There is no clear understanding of how the IoT will develop

• Privacy is cultural

• Need to protect privacy and enable innovation

• Importance of the transatlantic dialogue

• Our approach needs to be horizontal in nature

• Move away from slogans such as the “right to be forgotten” and the “right to the silence of the chips”

Privacy

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• The Commission formed a formal IoT expert group last year

• Divided into six sub-groups: 

• 1.IDENTIFICATION

• 2.PRIVACY & SECURITY

• 3. ETHICS

• 4. ARCHITECTURE

• 5. STANDARDS

• 6.GOVERNANCE 

EU IoT Formal Expert Group

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• Conclude working group reports by the end of the year

• Begin a public consultation early next year

• Prepare an impact assessment by July 2012

• Most likely outcome of the impact assessment will be a Commission recommendation in early 2013 based on a mixture of self-regulation (identification) co-regulation (privacy and ethics) and standardization (governance)

Next Steps for the IoT Expert Group

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• How will the principles of notice and choice apply?

• What does transparency mean?

• Access is difficult if there is not a direct interaction

• How do we incorporate privacy by design?

•  Can industry self regulation work?

Challenges

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