Cross-disciplinary lessons for the future internet

There are many societal concerns that emerge as a consequence of Future Internet (FI) research and development. A survey identified six key social and economic issues deemed most relevant to European FI projects. During a SESERV-organized workshop, experts in Future Internet technology engaged with social scientists (including economists), policy experts and other stakeholders in analyzing the socio-economic barriers and challenges that affect the Future Internet, and conversely, how the Future Internet will affect society, government, and business. The workshop aimed to bridge the gap between those who study and those who build the Internet. This chapter describes the socio-economic barriers seen by the community itself related to the Future Internet and suggests their resolution, as well as investigating how relevant the EU Digital Agenda is to Future Internet technologists

Designing the Health-related Internet of Things: Ethical Principles and Guidelines

The conjunction of wireless computing, ubiquitous Internet access, and the miniaturisation of sensors have opened the door for technological applications that can monitor health and well-being outside of formal healthcare systems. The health-related Internet of Things (H-IoT) increasingly plays a key role in health management by providing real-time tele-monitoring of patients, testing of treatments, actuation of medical devices, and fitness and well-being monitoring. Given its numerous applications and proposed benefits, adoption by medical and social care institutions and consumers may be rapid. However, a host of ethical concerns are also raised that must be addressed. The inherent sensitivity of health-related data being generated and latent risks of Internet-enabled devices pose serious challenges. Users, already in a vulnerable position as patients, face a seemingly impossible task to retain control over their data due to the scale, scope and complexity of systems that create, aggregate, and analyse personal health data. In response, the H-IoT must be designed to be technologically robust and scientifically reliable, while also remaining ethically responsible, trustworthy, and respectful of user rights and interests. To assist developers of the H-IoT, this paper describes nine principles and nine guidelines for ethical design of H-IoT devices and data protocols

Enabling the new economic actor: personal data regulation and the digital economy

This paper offers a sociological perspective on data protection regulation and its relevance to the design of digital technologies that exploit or ‘trade in’ personal data. From this perspective, proposed data protection regulations in Europe and the US seek to create a new economic actor – the consumer as personal data trader – through new legal frameworks that shift the locus of agency and control in data processing towards the individual. The sociological perspective on proposed data regulation recognises the reflexive relationship between law and the social order, and the commensurate need to balance the demand for compliance with the design of tools and resources that enable this new economic actor; tools that provide both data protection to the individual and allow the individual to exploit personal data to become an active player in the emerging data economy

Enabling the new economic actor: personal data regulation and the digital economy

This paper offers a sociological perspective on data protection regulation and its relevance to the design of digital technologies that exploit or ‘trade in’ personal data. From this perspective, proposed data protection regulations in Europe and the US seek to create a new economic actor – the consumer as personal data trader – through new legal frameworks that shift the locus of agency and control in data processing towards the individual. The sociological perspective on proposed data regulation recognises the reflexive relationship between law and the social order, and the commensurate need to balance the demand for compliance with the design of tools and resources that enable this new economic actor; tools that provide both data protection to the individual and allow the individual to exploit personal data to become an active player in the emerging data economy

The Internet of Things Connectivity Binge: What are the Implications?

Despite wide concern about cyberattacks, outages and privacy violations, most experts believe the Internet of Things will continue to expand successfully the next few years, tying machines to machines and linking people to valuable resources, services and opportunities

Standard Essential Patents and the Internet of Things

This in-depth analysis, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the JURI Committee, assesses the European Commission of (EC) Communication of 29 November 2017 on the EU approach to Standard Essential Patents. The report examines the principles identified in the Communication with respect to the Commission’s proposals on (i) increasing transparency on SEPs; (ii) determining valuation of SEPs( Standard Essential Patents) and FRAND ( Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory) terms; and (iii) enforcement. The report evaluates the efficient resolution of licensing disputes over FRAND, including via litigation, arbitration and mediation, licensing pools and collective licensing. The current document also puts forward some policy recommendations to, inter alia, enhance the general environment of FRAND licencing in the context of SEPs

The Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence as Workplace Supervisors:Explaining and Understanding the New Surveillance to Employees Beyond Art. 8 ECHR

The Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are overexposing the employee under the employer scrutiny. Through a labour oriented approach to privacy and data protection, this contribution aims to detect principles of explainability and understanding of the new workplace surveillance under the ECHR. In fact, looking at the ECtHR’s jurisprudence it is possible to theorise that the Court’s margin of appreciation may be stricter in safeguarding employees’ privacy and essential labour rights when the surveillance measure interferes with individual and collective autonomy of the workforce

Towards a right to repair for the Internet of Things:A review of legal and policy aspects

The way in which consumers engage with, utilise, or discard the technologies in their lives is constantly being reassessed and changed. This paper questions what role the emergent “right to repair” could play in resolving issues posed by the increasing ubiquity of the Internet of Things (IoT). The right gives consumers the ability and freedom to fix their devices, or to fair access to appropriate services that can carry out repair on their behalf. In this paper, firstly we establish the problem space surrounding consumer IoT – i.e., devices that are interconnected via the internet, enabling them to send and receive data. We reflect on hardware, software, and data components that pose legal and policy challenges for data protection, security, and sustainability. Through a literature review we then reflect on the current socio-legal developments that support or oppose changes in the consumer IoT market in regards to repair. We then highlight gaps in the existing literature that should inform future research trajectories in this area. This includes exploring disparity between environmental and consumer autonomy approaches, assessing consistency in regulatory developments, and market prioritisation. Finally, the paper concludes with a series of key insights and recommendations from our analysis including: recognition of the growing e-Waste problem and the inequalities it exacerbates and perpetuates; the need for identification and argumentation for different formulations of “repair” and how these may impact the implementation of a right going forward; the need for identification of the reasoning behind disparities in governmental approaches to the right to repair; and the design of a toolkit to practically translate better IoT design practices into reality