By 2020, a projected 50 billion devices will be connected to the internet, storing and transmitting massive amounts of data in real-time. This is the "Internet of things". From connected cars to smart thermostats, consumers and businesses alike are rushing into new technologies that improve the way in which they live and operate. With businesses across all sectors seeking new ways to adopt technologies that improve efficiency, legislators and regulators continue to identify and grapple with public policy concerns. The benefits are real –a projected global worth of more than $6 trillion – but balancing privacy protections with restraints on innovation are less certain.

1. Today, 25 billion connected devices collect and store our data every day — a number
expected to double in the next 5 years. Home automation systems, wearables, smart
appliances, connected sensors, and even vehicles, all together make up the
“Internet of Things.” Devices that “talk” to each other and share
data show promise for retailers, healthcare providers, energy
utilities, auto manufacturers, and beyond.
But as with any new technology, we are faced with new questions:
  How will our data be protected?
  Who will own the data being collected?
  How will “The Internet of Things” be regulated;
and could that regulation constrain innovation?
That last point is important, because by 2018, mobile data traffic will exceed fifteen
Exabytes, that’s 12.7 million years of online video streaming…per month. What’s more
much of it will be shared automatically, machine to machine, without us even knowing.
Recent guidelines released by the FTC suggest growing concerns about the potential
privacy and security risks to consumers. While no legislation has been introduced,
Congress has also shown a heightened interest in the Internet of Things, including a
new bipartisan caucus to educate Members on the issue.
The safety and convenience benefits of the Internet of Things are hard to deny. With
a projected global worth of more than $6 trillion, there is major potential to improve
efficiency and productivity for businesses; and for peoples’ lives. Balancing the security
threat posed by widespread sharing of data with concerns of constraining innovation
and government overreach won’t be easy - this promises to be a public policy issue to
watch closely in 2015. 
© 2015 CIT Group Inc. CIT and the CIT logo are registered service marks of CIT Group Inc.
Sources
FTC Staff Report, “Internet of Things: Privacy & Security in a Connected World,” January 2015
McKinsey Institute, “The Internet of Things: Sizing up the opportunity,” December 2014
Devices that “talk” to
each other and share
data show promise for
retailers, healthcare
providers, energy utilities,
auto manufacturers,
and beyond.
Visit cit.com/internetofthings to view the video.