Cybersecurity & Standards, Government Surveillance, Privacy & Data
CDT Comments to the NTIA on Fostering the Advancement of the Internet of Things
10 March 2017
National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)
U.S. Department of Commerce
1401 Constitution Avenue NW., Room 4725,
Washington, DC 20230
Re: Request for Public Comment – The Benefits, Challenges, and Potential Roles for the Government in Fostering the Advancement of the Internet of Things (IoT)
To: Travis Hall
A nonprofit advocacy organization, CDT works to promote democratic values by shaping technology policy and architecture, with a focus on the rights of the individual. CDT supports laws, corporate policies, and technological tools that protect privacy and security and enable free speech online. Based in Washington, D.C., and with a presence in Brussels, CDT works inclusively across sectors to find tangible solutions to today’s most pressing technology policy challenges.
CDT applauds the NTIA and its Internet Policy Task Force for the green paper titled ‘Fostering the Advancement of the Internet of Things’. This report provides a comprehensive examination of the key issues that decision-makers in the public and private sectors must grapple with in order to realize the benefits of the IoT, while mitigating security, privacy and other risks.
Though it is likely that the Federal Trade Commission will continue to lead on privacy policy and enforcement, CDT recommends that the NTIA and Department of Commerce continue their ongoing efforts to engage stakeholders and to pursue consensus-based global standards, starting from the premise that the privacy challenges raised by the IoT are novel. The Department is well positioned to highlight efforts within industry to promote privacy, which includes addressing basic Fair Information Practice Principles and adopting privacy by design across the full lifecycle of IoT devices, products, and services.
We thank the NTIA for the opportunity to provide comments on this report and look forward to working with the Administration in its efforts to foster the advancement of the internet of things.
