The peak body for the telecoms industry, the Communications Alliance, has welcomed the launch of the iOT Alliance Australia’s guide to good data practice.
The iOTAA’s guide - Good Data Practice: A Guide for Business to Consumer IoT Services for Australia – was launched on Wednesday, and is the product of a major collaborative effort by industry, consumer representatives and regulatory bodies to address consumer-related concerns about business to consumer IoT services.
The guide deals with what industry players need to consider when supplying IoT devices and services to consumers, and aims to promote industry and consumer awareness of good practice in dealing with data associated with business to consumer (B2C) IoT services.
Gavin Smith, IoTAA Chair and President and Chairman of Robert Bosch Australia launched the guide and said “IoTAA believes that industry needs to step up and take responsibility for the inherent risks in Internet of Things services. Providers can rely too heavily on consumers to understand and mitigate risks”.
{loadposition peter}Communications Alliance says the guide focusses on measures that IoT providers can take to build consumer trust and understanding of safe use of IoT products and services.
And, recommendations include that providers ensure the ‘terms of use’ of their products and services are fair, and clearly expressed, particularly on uses of consumer data and secure use of IoT devices.
The Guide is authored by IoTAA’s Workstream 3: Data Use, Access and Privacy, chaired by Peter Leonard, Principal, Data Synergies.
Input to the guide was provided by many industry and regulatory bodies, including many members of Workstream 3 and staff of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
The Guide outlines seven good data practice principles, dealing with:
- Consumer protection
- Accountability
- Customer empowerment
- Cyber protection
- Customer data transparency
- Data minimisation and
- Customer data control