Uncertain Regulatory Theory and Law Hampers Consumer IoT Cybersecurity

Poor regulation of the consumer IoT electronics sector compounds the negative market incentives discussed in the first part of this series. While standards for IoT devices are taking shape in some sectors of the U.S. economy, no similar regime has been developed for the broad consumer IoT electronics market. Moreover, little expert consensus has developed as to what such a regime would look like even if the political will existed to implement it. Such a regime would also have to contend with the challenges of regulating a market where many key actors are overseas. These challenges need not pose an insuperable barrier to developing a sound regulatory regime but do suggest that far more thought needs to be put into understanding what IoT regulation would actually look like. Written by NYU Cyber Scholar Samuel G. Bieler