My name is John Davis, I head up the FTCs Internet of Things (IoT) Development Standards Enforcement Group. For over 5 years now I have overseen the design, deployment, enhancement and enforcement of our federal government IoT development standard body.
In the years between 2015 and 2020 we have seen a wild west in the development of Internet of Things devices, platforms, and supporting applications. Anything you could imagine, and some things you can't imaging, have been wired up to the Internet, ushering in a new era of manufacturing. While some of these new products provide clear value to consumers, the majority of them do not, and some are even dangerous, or seriously compromise privacy, and the security of their consumers.
We were getting complaints of baby monitors being openly accessible online, people’s watches tracking their every move and action in a voyeuristic way, and people’s automobiles openly sharing every stop, turn you take, and places you go. Many IoT developers have let their imagination get the best of them when building these new devices, and it is our job to help reign them in, and help keep platforms secure, and applications protecting consumers privacy, and safety by default.
The Internet of Things (IoT) Development Standards Enforcement Group (IoTDSEG) has developed its own IoT platform, using the Pavlok watch as an enforcement endpoint. In 2020, if you want to openly sell an IoT device on the public market you have to be certified as an IoTDSEG member, and when your platform, APIs, and application is ready you will have get certified with IoTDSEG, which at this time IoTDSEG, using the Pavlok API, will add an “enforcement layer” to every IoT solution.
The IoTDSEG enforcement layer provides a direct connect from every device connected to a developers platforms, and when any consumer of their devices, and users of their applications, privacy or safety is put in question, the developer will receive a "physical push notification". Each “enforcement episode” that occurs is logged in our central database, and signal is sent to each developers wrist device. For minor infractions a small electrical shock is sent, and for larger a sustained, higher voltage charge is sent.
If you want to be an IoT developer you must be certified with IoTDSEG, and wear your enforcement watch at all times. It is important that you feel the pain of your IoT consumers. The american people have voted unanimously that IoT is here to stay, but effective policing is necessary to keep the quality of service of these Internet connected devices extremely high, protecting the security, and privacy of every individual who uses IoT in their life.
