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privacy, it’s [also] about public
safety. If you have door locks that
are connected to the Internet,
someone else [can] hack your
front door and go into your home.
If you had a comprehensive
privacy law, then any company
that was collecting personally
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in how it could collect the data,
and how it could use the data. We
need federal legislation to limit
the collection and use of personal
data. We need to adopt robust
security standards to ensure that
Internet-connected devices can’t
be hacked by others. We need to
minimize data collections. And
we need to make meaningful de-
cisions about the risks associated
with Internet-connected devices,
involving automobiles, drones,
and door locks. Even thermostats.QWhat are the prospects
for that kind of regulation?
A The good news is that privacy,
unlike a lot of other issues in
Washington, is nonpartisan. So
you do see Republicans and
Democrats working together
on legislation. There are about
a dozen bills that have been
introduced so far. But there
hasn’t been much movement.
Part of the problem here is that
we don’t have strong advocacyfor privacy within the Congress.
And the Federal Trade Com-
mission, which holds itself out
as a privacy agency, really has
not done enough to inform the
Congress about the privacy risks
from some of these devices.QWhy isn’t the market
providing a solution, or a
service, that shields people
from this exposure? Seems
like it would be a selling point.
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evaluate the privacy risks. The
technology rapidly changes
and most of the companies are
actually making their money off
the data, not off the product.
The business model makes it
unlikely that consumers will be
able to make meaningful choices.QWhat has to happen for
Congress or the Federal Trade
Commission to step up and
take care of this problem?
AThere has to be a willingness torecognize that market based solu-
tions are not working. That’s typ-
ically the argument that’s made
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market-based solution.” But if
consumers can’t meaningfully
evaluate the risks, then it’s unlike-
ly that they’re going to provide
incentives in the market that are
going to produce better products.QWhat will it take to create
the sense of urgency need-
ed to enact protections?
A It’s going to require more
people understanding the risk
of Internet-connected devices. It
may take a few well-publicized
episodes. I also have said that,
in the United States, in addition
to privacy legislation, we need
a new agency that’s tasked with
addressing these emerging chal-
lenges. In Europe, where you have
data protection agencies, one of
the issues that they are studying
and proposing regulations for is
precisely the Internet of Things.“If you have
door locks
yy
that are
connected to
the Internet,someone
elsee [can]
HACK YOUR
front door.”