European Union Internet of Things: Privacy and Regulation Questionnaire

Hot on the heels of Googles problems with European Regulators over their “Streetcars named Undesirable”, the European Commission has launched an on-line public questionnaire for the Internet of Things (IoT) Governance called “Your Voice in Europe”. The questionnaire is available [HERE] until July 10th, 2012.

The EU is getting into regulatory issues, partly centered around privacy, in big way. Its interesting to see how the European Court of Justice’s recent ruling that programming languages cannot be copyrighted differs from the Oracle vs Google Java language spat in the United States. Also, legislators in the US are taking on the autonomous cars issues in California and Nevada, just as the term “autonomous objects” is starting to replace “networked devices”.

The press release states:

[…] Brussels, 12 April 2012 – The “Internet of Things” (IoT) is a future in which everyday objects such as phones, cars, household appliances, clothes and even food are wirelessly connected to the Internet through smart chips, and can collect and share data. The European Commission wants to know what framework is needed to unleash the potential economic and societal benefits of the IoT, whilst ensuring an adequate level of control of the devices gathering, processing and storing information. The information concerned includes users’ behavioural patterns, location and preferences. The Commission wants to ensure that the rights of individuals are respected and is launching a public consultation inviting comments by 12th July 2012. […] Neelie Kroes, European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda, 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. [..]” [VISIT PRESS RELEASE] [TAKE THE QUESTIONNAIRE]

They have even put out some youtubes on the subject, for the video-inclined:


 


 


 


 



 

More videos available from http://www.youtube.com/user/DigitalAgendaEU




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