INDUSTRY GUIDE PROMOTES DATA USE PROTECTION FOR INTERNET OF THINGS (IOT) CONSUMERS

Sydney, 8 November 2017 - Communications Alliance today welcomed the launch of the IoTAA’s Good Data Practice: A Guide for Business to Consumer IoT Services for Australia.

The 20-page Guide, launched by the IoT Alliance Australia in Sydney, is the product of  a major collaborative effort by industry, consumer representatives and regulatory bodies to address consumer-related concerns about business to consumer IoT services.

Good Data Practice: A Guide for Business to Consumer IoT Services for Australia deals with what industry players need to consider when supplying IoT devices and services to consumers.

The Guide aims to promote industry and consumer awareness of good practice in dealing with data associated with business to consumer (B2C) IoT services. 
The publication focusses on measures that IoT providers can take to build consumer trust and understanding of safe use of IoT products and services.  Recommendations include that providers ensure the ‘terms of use’ of their products and services are fair, and clearly expressed, particularly on uses of consumer data and secure use of IoT devices. 

The Guide is authored by IoTAA’s Workstream 3: Data Use, Access and Privacy, chaired by Peter Leonard, Principal, Data Synergies.  Input came from many industry and regulatory bodies, including many members of Workstream 3 and staff of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

Typically, multiple devices, parties and providers are involved in the IoT device and service delivery chain.

Data will often pass through multiple parties, e.g. cloud platform providers, data warehouses and billing service providers, creating the potential for misuse of data.  The Guide outlines seven Good Data Practice Principles, dealing with:

• consumer protection
• accountability
• customer empowerment
• cyber protection
• customer data transparency
• data minimisation and
• customer data control
  

“Industry and consumers need a better engagement model to ensure IoT services deliver benefits without consumer detriment”, said Peter Leonard.  “Industry can take the lead, but only through good engagement with consumers and regulators and open and frank discussions about how to work together to address and reduce risks.”
Good Data Practice: A Guide for Business to Consumer IoT Services for Australia is available online at http://www.iot.org.au/resources/

Internet of Things
IoT is defined as the infrastructure of interconnected objects, people, systems and information resources together with intelligent services to allow them to process information of the physical and the virtual world and react. 
Consumer IoT devices include everything from connected vehicles, connected TVs, connected toys, smartphones (often doubling as control (actuator) devices for IoT services and reporting devices as to data outputs from IoT sensors), to energy meters, security monitoring, thermostats, kettles, swimming pool filters, washing machines, headphones, lamps and wearable devices.

ABOUT IOT ALLIANCE AUSTRALIA, (IoTAA)

The vision of IoTAA is to empower industry to grow Australia’s competitive advantage
through IoT.

IoTAA has 650 members from approximately 330 organisations across its seven workstreams. The workstreams are focused on:

• Collaboration
• Smart industries and cities
• Data use, access and privacy
• Spectrum availability and licensing
• Cyber security and network resilience
• IoT start-up Innovation; and
• Platforms and Interoperability
  

IoTAA was incorporated as a not-for-profit entity in July 2016, emerging from the Communications Alliance IoT Think Tank, established in 2015. It Executive Council is Chaired by Communications Alliance CEO, John Stanton.

IoTAA is hosted and supported by the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) at its Broadway Campus in Sydney.