Smart devices or Internet of Things (IoTs) have a significant role in our daily lives at home. A new report has raised the importance of increasing consumer awareness of privacy and consumer protection issues associated with IoTs since there is very limited legal protection for consumers who use these devices. The report Enhancing consumer awareness of privacy and the Internet of Things (2021) presents data about the purchasing patterns, common uses and knowledge Australian consumers have of consumer internet of things (CIoTs) and their privacy impacts, with some suggested solutions.
Information privacy is your right, find out more if you are thinking of buying a smart device for your home.
Consumers Federation of Australia (CFA) is engaging with these challenges by supporting a representative to participate on the Standards Australia Technical Committee IT-042 Internet of things involved in standardization in IoT and Digital Twin including their related technologies. The committee also contributes to the work of the international standards development committee ISO/IEC JTC1 SC 41 and identically adopted AS ISO/IEC 20924:2021 Internet of things – Vocabulary, which provides a definition of Internet of Things along with a set of terms and definitions.
The CFA representative brings the consumer stakeholder contribution to the process, ensuring a robust standard of benefit to the community. For more information about the CFA Standards Project and how to participate, please contact standards@consumeraction.org.au.
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