IoT 2 ETHICAL, LEGAL AND SOCIAL ISSUES

ETHICAL, LEGAL AND SOCIAL ISSUES IN IoT 1
ETHICAL, LEGAL AND SOCIAL ISSUES IN IoT
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ETHICAL, LEGAL AND SOCIAL ISSUES IN IoT 2
The Internet of Things is a game changer that cuts across all industries. It’s effectiveness in
applicability and adoption among the social masses can solely be attributed to its capability
seamlessly connect hardware devices and the internet. This ensures that both parties at the end of
the divide can benefit from the collection of data that is instituted by IoT. In this case, clients can
be served better through customized products, as products manufacturers can be able to design
products based on clients purchase behaviors. This ensures that the market has the right products
to suit each client’s needs. The most common IoT components include thermostats, fitness
trackers, home security devices, pacemakers, the internet, automation, transport devices, and
sensors. The IoT framework provides massive opportunities for suppliers of products and
services in a revolutionary manner (Zhou & Piramuthu, 2015 p. 25).
The issue of Trust
Many social challenges are bound to be brought about by IoT if its left unchecked. Even now,
businesses that are using IoT are continuously violating major legal policies that have been
enacted to ensure that consumer interests are protected. The internet proliferation in nearly all
areas of life has led to a major challenge especially in being able to maintain privacy of data and
online users. There is need to ensure that a balance is achieved between trust and innovation
(Sturges, 2009 p. 100). Otherwise, the continuous use of IoT may end up being
counterproductive. It is necessary for institutions to be proactive and candidly assess the risks
and opportunities facing product sustainability in the market. Using this approach, it will be
possible to ensure that companies perform optimally even in the long term as more IoT products
continue to be brought into the market. The data that is collected and stored will ensure that
products are supported through the life cycle (Bhattacharya, Wainwright, & Whalley, 2017 p.
670).
Huge opportunities exist for IoT as its growth curve is on a continuous uptrend. By 2020, it is
expected that more than 20 billion more devices will be added into the IoT sphere. Based on such
projections, it is expected that IoT will herald the transformation of the digital environment by
exploiting the power of data. Microsoft intends to invest approximately $5 billion over the next
half a decade with the objective of enabling IoT reliant enterprises fully transform their business
models (Park, Kim, & Chang, 2016). For a complex system such as IoT to work, establishing
trust becomes mandatory. Trust is mostly the invisible assumption in the conversation about
technology. When IoT works safely, efficiently, and seamlessly, trust in system will be implicit
rather than explicit. IoT users can only be comfortable in the system if it promotes the expected
goals. It is only when the elements that promote trust in IoT breakdown that an impact will be
felt. Advanced technology has ensured that AI has been incorporated into IoT. However,
questions arise with regards to the appropriateness of allowing AI to handle people’s
information. Is it morally correct to allow AI to make critical decisions for human beings that
created the same devices? Some of the information handle by IoT is critical to the physical safety
of human beings. It would only seem appropriate to allow fellow human beings handle such
important decisions.

ETHICAL, LEGAL AND SOCIAL ISSUES IN IoT 3
The Legal Challenge
The traditional online business environment had been established with principles that didn’t
account for the extensive growth of IoT. While the former approach was working quite
efficiently, it certainly fails to accommodate the unique challenges brought about by IOT.
Likewise, the legal regulations that had been established to guide the traditional market place
cannot sustain the rapid change anymore. Hence, as new IoT products continue to be released,
they end up facing unique regulatory and legal challenges. Companies that rely on IoT to deliver
to the clientele will have to enact new sustainable policies that will guide the future IoT business
model.
The Australian Computer Society emphasizes on the need of members adhering to its ethical
codes as this ensures that sanity is maintained in the IT and online environment. The codes under
ACS double up as part of the Code of Professional Conduct and Societal Stipulations. There are
six ethical principles that are outlined by the Code of Professional Conduct, and it is expected
that all professional uphold these values at all times. These Professional Standards are highly
applicable in the professional environment as the lack of adherence can lead to litigations on
grounds of negligence. Additionally, the ACS can also implement disciplinary measures on
companies that fail to adhere by these statutes (Atkinson & Brooks 2009 p.592).
In Australia, personal information is regarded as private and is heavily protected under the law.
The Privacy Protection Act 1998 classifies personal information as any data that pertains to an
individual’s family or private life including medical information, name, telephone number, bank
details, working and purchasing details. The Act contains about 13 Australian Privacy Principles,
the Privacy Amendment Act 2012, and the 2013 Privacy Regulation. Other Acts enacted to
protect personal information include the Health Records Act 2001 and the Privacy and Data
Protection Act 2014 (Allhoff & Henschke, 2018 p. 57). The 1998 Act classifies private
information in four different ways, which include; Personal Credit Reporting, Information that’s
stored by Commonwealth Public bodies, Individual Credit Reporting, and Information held by
Private Sector bodies.
Enterprises are finding it difficult to successfully secure client expectations while government
regulations continue to evolve based on the challenges that keep emerging. The European Data
Protection Regulation for IoT was implemented in 2018. The new statute allows data owners to
have more powers as to how their personal information will be collected, stored, and distributed.
The GDPR is very comprehensive and takes into account previous policies that had been
implemented to guide data protection. Violation of the laws places companies at a risk of being
fined up to 4% of global gross earnings or 20 million Euros (O'Leary, D.E., 2016 p. 83).
The Federal Trade Commission Act that protects client’s privacy and security by restricting how
gathered personal data can be used. The failure to adhere to such laws may easily lead
enterprises to be heavily fined, while the only other choice is to change the business model to
avoid the punitive measures. Based on Cisco’s 2018 Annual Cybersecurity Report, hackers have
really become advanced, and therefore, they have the capability to impact businesses much
dangerously. Finally, the Data Breach investigations Report concluded that there is need for