“Home, Tweet Home”: Implications of the Connected Home, Human and Habitat on Australian Consumers
The operation of the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network is made possible by funding provided by the Commonwealth of Australia under section 593 of the Telecommunications Act 1997. This funding is recovered from charges on telecommunications carriers.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this report are the author’s own.
Executive Summary 4
Introduction 9
About this Report 10
Defining the ‘Internet of Things’ 10
The Connected Home, Human and Habitat 13
The Connected Home 14
The Connected Human 15
The Connected Habitat 16
Internet of Things: Past, Present and Future 18
History of the Internet of Things 18
The Current State of Internet of Things in Australia 19
The Future of Internet of Things 21
Internet of Things and Consumers 24
Who is the ‘Consumer’ of Internet of Things? 24
The Consumer Drivers of Internet of Things 24
Building Consumer Confidence 25
The Internet of Things and Consumer Issues 27
Scene One: Home, Connected Home 27
Internet of Things: Devices, Standards and Interoperability 28
Serviceability of the Connected Home, Human and Habitat 34
Scene Two: Guardian Angels 37
The Connected Human: Healthcare and Wearables 38
Internet of Things and Affordability 45
Elderly Consumers and Consumers with Disabilities 49
Scene Three: Into the Wild 50
Internet of Things and Consumerism 51
Internet of Things and Children 55
Internet of Things and Privacy 56
Scene Four: Old Man Yells at Cloud 61
Securing the Internet of Things 62
Internet of Things: Choice, Control and Opting Out 66
Internet of Things and Consumer Protection 67
Internet of Things and Environmental Implications 69
Recommendations for Consumers 71
Early adopters must stay informed, choose their uses carefully and be aware that choices may not be durable 71
Avoid communication breakdown: Assess specific communications standards in use by each device 72
Build a Connected Home that is manageable, serviceable and user-friendly 73
Protect your privacy and security: know your product, know its limitations and be aware of the context of its usage 73
Recommendations for Internet of Things Product and Service Providers 75
Adopt the elements of the ‘IoT Design Manifesto’ 75
Adopt the recommendations of the OAIC 75
Adopt a policy of data minimisation 75
Give consumers tools of empowerment 76
Implement privacy, security, choice and useability ‘by design’ 77
Implement widely-accepted, open technical connectivity standards 79
Recommendations for Government and Policymakers 81
Innovate, Wait, then Regulate 81
Clarify the application of consumer guarantees to telecommunications services 81
Become a market leader and early adopter 81
Develop a clear stance on private-sector use of publicly collected data 82
Identify, define and regulate Connected Human data 82
Introduce a data breach notification regime 82
Form a national, multi-stakeholder, inter-agency Internet of Things body 84
Conclusion 84
APPENDICES 86
Appendix 1 – ISO/IEC JTC 1 Drivers of Internet of Things (selective list) 86
Appendix 2 – The Connected Human: Examples of Bio-Indicator Inferences* 88
Appendix 3 - The Alexandra Institute’s Vision of Connected Retail 90
Appendix 4 - Solove’s ‘Taxonomy of Privacy’ (An Internet of Things Perspective) 92
Appendix 5 - The 13 Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) 94