The Internet of Things as a Tool for Inclusion and Equality.

• Author: Polonetsky, Jules

TABLE OF CONTENTS I.INTRODUCTION 104 II.THE INTERNET OF THINGS AND PRIVACY 104 III.THE INTERNET OF THINGS AND INCLUSION 106 A. For people who are visually impaired 106 B. For people with mobility-related limitation 107 C. For people who are hearing impaired 107 D. For older adults and the elderly 107 E. For those with health concerns 108 F. For the infirm 108 G. For the economically disadvantaged 109 H. For farmers in rural communities 109 I. Improving Interoperability and Access 109 IV.EMERGING INDUSTRY STANDARDS AND NORMS 110 A. Wearables 110 B. "Always Ready" Home Devices 114 V.CONCLUSION 117 I. INTRODUCTION

In the next decade, a critical issue for policymakers and regulators will be the advancement and growing ubiquity of cyber-physical systems, or the Internet of Things (IoT). Consumer-facing IoT systems are already delivering benefits to consumers and society. (1) IoT can also be a powerful tool for inclusion and equality, enabling accessibility for many who have traditionally encountered hardship or exclusion because of physical disabilities or other limitations. Through creative forms of notice and flexible application of the Fair Information Practice Principles (FIPPs), policymakers and regulators can find meaningful ways to protect data privacy while promoting beneficial innovation.

2. THE INTERNET OF THINGS AND PRIVACY

   As a threshold matter, not all systems in the Internet of Things (IoT) implicate privacy. While many IoT systems are directly consumer facing, many have little or no connection to individuals. For example, an oil company may install sensors to monitor an Alaskan pipeline, (2) a power generation company may use sensors to predict and avoid potential power failures, (3) and an industrial vendor may collect data from jet engines to monitor the environmental impact of aircraft (4)--all examples of machine-to-machine (M2M) connections that do not collect or reveal information about individuals. (5) Policies aimed towards consumer protection must first distinguish between consumer and non-consumer uses of connected devices if they are to avoid unduly affecting beneficial industrial uses of those devices.

   Nonetheless, many IoT systems do involve data from or about individuals. Information networks created by IoT promise a wide array of consumer benefits, including improvements in healthcare, efficient traffic management, public safety, convenience, environmental protection, and business innovation. (6) These benefits are enabled when industry is able to layer applications on top of connected devices to create a network of smart systems. Maximizing such benefits necessarily requires collecting, retaining, and sharing information in new ways. Information sharing on the scale generated by IoT implicates privacy risks and security concerns that have not been traditionally associated with consumer devices, such as household items and personal vehicles. (7)

   In addition to legal and regulatory frameworks, business-developed standards designed to address security and privacy issues are necessary to ensure that IoT achieves its full potential. If there are lax controls or insufficient oversight of the collection of personal information through connected devices, consumers will lose trust in the evolving technologies. In the words of European Commission Vice-President Neelie Kroes, responsible for the EU Digital Agenda, the industry "cannot innovate in a bubble if citizens are not coming along for the journey." (8)

   The Internet of Things raises new issues for the Fair Information Practice Principles (FIPPs), which have long provided the foundation of consumer privacy protection in this country and embody core privacy values. (9) The FIPPs articulate basic protections for handling personal data: (1) Transparency, (2) Individual Control, (3) Respect for Context, (4) Security, (5) Access and Accuracy, (6) Focused Collection, and (7) Accountability. (10) Over time, as technologies and the global privacy context have changed, the FIPPs have been presented in different ways with different emphases. (11) On balance, the FIPPs are not meant to establish rigid parameters for the processing of information but rather to serve as high-level guidelines.

   While the traditional mechanisms--such as presentations of detailed privacy policies and prompts for consents--have served to promote the FIPPs in many contexts, new mechanisms may be appropriate for some implementations of the Internet of Things. New issues around the FIPPs can be addressed with openness to flexibility and new forms of notice.

3. THE INTERNET OF THINGS AND INCLUSION

   When the non-profit Pew Research Center queried more than 1,600 experts on the subject, 83 percent predicted that IoT will "have widespread and beneficial effects on the everyday lives of the public by 2025." (12) Among other advantages, IoT devices can improve public health by keeping patients in closer touch with doctors, reducing highway deaths by automatically braking vehicles to avoid crashes, and boosting food supplies by helping farmers tend their crops. (13) Moreover, IoT systems can improve the day-to-day quality of life for individuals--even those who are not connected to the Internet, who do not know what IoT is, or who may not be able to afford IoT-enabled technology, including disadvantaged groups and rural communities. Specifically:

   1. For people who are visually impaired

      * OrCam: A wearable video camera that attaches to the wearer's eyeglasses and provides artificial vision technology for the visually impaired. It translates written text to audio in real-time (OrCam MyReader) and recognizes stored faces of individuals and other consumer products (OrCam MyEye). (14)

      * Dot: The world's first Braille smart watch, which features a series of dull pins that rise and fall at customizable speeds and allows users to read text messages and e-books. (15)

      * Cloud-connected shoe insoles: Developed at MIT Media Lab, works with a mobile device to help the user navigate a city without looking at a smartphone for directions. (16)

      * Nest: A home automation system, which allows for control of appliances and home thermostat via smartphone. (17)

      * iRobot's Roomba (18): A smart vacuum cleaner equipped with software and sensors that allow it to efficiently navigate rooms.

   2. For people with mobility-related limitations

      * Smart Home assistants, such as the Amazon Echo or Google Home, that are "always ready" or able to be activated by a wake phrase, allow users to control things in the home remotely, such as lights, door locks, or security systems. (19)

      * Connected vehicle technologies, such as General Motor's Super Cruise driver-assistance technology (scheduled to be introduced in 2017 model Cadillacs), can provide semi-autonomous operation. (20)

      * Indoor Location Mapping: Allows the user to identify the location of various services, including ramps, accessible services, and escalators and elevators in public places. (21)

   3. For people who are hearing impaired

      * Ring (22): A connected doorbell and home security solution, which alerts users to motion and allows residents to remotely monitor their door.

      * Oticon Opn (23): A connected hearing aid that can be programmed to communicate with a range of other connected devices, such as smoke detectors, baby monitors, or other smart home devices.

   4. For older adults and the elderly

      * Lively (24): Sensors that alert relatives when an older family member fails to take medicine, eat, or return home from a walk.

   5. For those with health concerns

      * Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) (25): A wearable device that displays a constant reading of blood glucose level by inserting a tiny electrode under the skin which then transmits the glucose reading via wireless radio frequency to a display device. Reports may be shared with parents and with care providers.

      * Ralph Lauren's Polo Tech Shirt (26): A shirt with conductive threads and a small snap-on module that relays information like heart rate and breathing data to a Bluetooth-connected mobile device.

   6. For people who are hospitalized

      * General Electric (GE) Healthcare has developed technology to keep hospitals more sanitary and to reduce medical errors. GE's technology can determine whether soap and sanitizer dispensers are used by medical personnel before and after seeing a patient. (27)

      * GE Healthcare technology can also track when patients get in and out of bed to help prevent falls, monitor clinical roundups to ensure that clinicians check on patients at least once per hour, and can help prevent and treat painful pressure ulcers. (28)

      * AiCure (29): A company that combines video facial recognition and artificial intelligence, can help confirm that patients have taken their medication.

   7. For the economically disadvantaged

      * Smart meters offer access to detailed consumption data that can assist customers in managing their energy usage, which may save customers money on their energy bills. (30)

      * M2M technology: Expands consumers' access to credit by enabling two new payment methods: pay-as-you-go ("PAYG") asset financing, which allows consumers to pay for products over time and prepaid, where consumers pay for services on an as-needed basis. (31)

   8. For farmers in rural communities

      * Crop sensors can relay information to application machines, which then release the appropriate amount of fertilizers and pesticides. (32) Soil sensors can provide similar information leading to efficient irrigation. (33)

      * Real-time equipment maintenance (34)

      * Aerial monitoring to detect changes in crop conditions (35)

      * Thermal sensors can identify sick livestock by body temperature (36)

1. Improving Interoperability and Access

   Many of the devices described above can bring benefits...