For both companies and consumers, the value of the data connected devices produce is unquestionable. But who owns that data—and, moreover, what they get to do with it— is still a matter of debate. The implications for privacy, security, and business will, ultimately, be hugely important.
“Business owners and executives need to pay close attention to what data their companies are sharing, with whom, and whether their technology providers will claim ownership of that information,” writes Fortune’s Barb Darrow [1].
The question of data ownership is murky when it comes to IoT chiefly because its lifespan involves so many different players. There are millions of connected devices, each producing a ton of data every day. Companies that make the devices pay tech companies to store and process that data, and those tech companies may want a piece of it for their own purposes. Governments that use the connected devices for public services, meanwhile, may also claim some right to the data.
“The value chain of who owns the data can be complicated already and as you aggregate more sources it just gets more complicated," Dan Vesset of market research firm IDC told Fortune.
Krish Krishnan, president of Sixth Sense Advisors, says that consumers control their IoT data until it leaves the connected device they are using. After that, ownership becomes more difficult to ascribe, and it may be some time before there’s any clarity on the issue as all the players involved battle it out.
“In some cases, such as with the smart thermostat or smart car, the owner of the device or car can be defined as the producer of the data, whom can claim ownership status. But in other cases the ownership definition is hazy. This question of the data’s ownership needs to be better defined and governed for enterprises and individuals alike,” Krishnan writes.
Tell us what you think about IoT data ownership.
And visit IBM experts in Berlin from September 1-6 at IFA 2017, Europe’s biggest global conference for consumer electronics and adjacent industries, to continue the conversation.
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