Just as the world of mobile advertising and marketing is starting to really focus on the ‘Internet of Things’ and how they can best use it to display ads and drive sales, the FTC is issuing a fairly serious warning. Edith Ramirez, the FTC chairwoman, commented at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, held in Las Vegas, that “the IoT has the potential to transform our daily lives.” She went on to say, however, that there are, “significant privacy and security implications” as well.
This warning may be coming at the perfect time, as many in the marketing industry are worried that we will be ‘behind the ball’ when it comes to fighting fraud and security issues on this new lineup of devices. Similar to how the marketing industry has had to battle hackers and fraudsters on mobile and display ads, the same can be expected with Internet of Things devices.
The important thing to remember, and what it seems the point of the FTC warning, is that it is important to get ahead of the curve with this emerging market. By focusing on security and ethical marketing now, it will be possible to minimize the problems in the future.
Ramirez also commented in her presentation saying, “The introduction of sensors and devices into currently intimate spaces, like our homes, cars and even our bodies, poses particular challenges and increases the sensitivity of the data that is being collected. Connected devices are effectively allowing companies to digitally monitor our otherwise private activities.”
Of course, in addition to the companies monitoring this information, it will potentially be available to unethical hackers and other criminals, which is a significant risk.
While no specific solutions were provided by Ramirez or the FTC, they are encouraging marketers and those in the IoT industries to work together to find ways to prevent as many of these problems as possible.
She ended with something of a warning to the industry saying that they must consider the security threats. This obviously means that the FTC will be watching closely how these devices, and the technologies they use, are being used to ensure consumers are kept as safe as possible.
[photosmash]
