Improving Soft Law Governance of the Internet of Things

Abstract

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">From smart cities</b> to smart homes to smart factories, the Internet of Things (IoT) is the underlying technology that is powering a sea change in human-technological interaction. The IoT consists of an ever-expanding network of “things” that are connected to the Internet. These connected “things” go beyond the ubiquitous Internet and mobile platforms currently in existence, such as laptops and smartphones, and now include medical devices <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref1" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">[1]</xref> , smart meters <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref2" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">[2]</xref> , home personal assistants <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref3" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">[3]</xref> , smart home appliances, and motor vehicles <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref4" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">[4]</xref> , to name some examples. With an estimated 22 billion IoT connected devices in use around the world as of 2018 <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref5" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">[5]</xref> , there are already more “things” connected to the Internet than people, and forecasts are that there will be between 40 and 50 billion connected “things” by 2025 <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref6" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">[6]</xref> .