Development of the 'internet of things' not dependent on privacy and security issues being addressed, says researcher

Dr. Gilad Rosner, founder of the Internet of Things Privacy Forum, said that "concern for privacy and security" would not "curtail or slow technological growth".

"The internet of things will develop whether or not privacy and security are addressed," Rosner said in an article for Radar. "Economic imperative and technology evolution will impel the IoT and its tremendous potential for increased monitoring forward, but citizen concern plays a minor role in operationalizing privacy. Certainly, popular discourse on the subject is important, but developers, designers, policy-makers and manufacturers are the key actors in embedding privacy architectures within new connected devices."

Rosner said that although there have been concerns raised about how the increasing connectivity of devices would impact on privacy and security, there is no proof that it impacts or will impact in future on sales of IoT products.

There are previous examples of commentators wrongly predicting the demise of markets as a result of concerns expressed in relation to technology, Rosner said. Referencing one such example, Rosner said that the e-commerce market is "doing just fine" despite predictions that it would falter if privacy protections for consumers were not strengthened.

"Starting from the research that says people are worried about the intrusiveness of technology, one can imagine a desire to believe that our worries will translate into a will to slow things down, or a wariness on the part of IoT vendors," Rosner said. "The argument that privacy and security must be addressed for the IoT to blossom, then, can be met with head nodding and warm feelings because it assuages fears. It is, however, an empty sentiment."

"The internet of things, whatever it is, will happily march along with lousy privacy and security, and we will be the poorer for it. Collective senses of the loss of privacy are a small part of what encourages the improvement of privacy preservation. Certainly, businesses large and small do think about what the populace might find 'creepy,' but there is a wide gulf between considering opinions that might affect sales and actually baking privacy into devices," he said.

In January, US regulator the Federal Trade Commission said businesses developing devices and applications for the IoT must win the trust of consumers on issues of privacy and security if they are to enjoy success in the market.

A report commissioned by Ofcom, the UK's telecommunications regulator, published this summer, found that the increasing connectivity of devices and flow of data that it brings will aggravate existing difficulties companies face in complying with data privacy laws.