As the number of Internet-linked gadgets increases around the world,
Politico says that the government is doing a poor job of keeping up with how to deal with the sweeping force of the so-called "Internet of Things."
While President Barack Obama now sports a FitBit monitor and a bipartisan group of lawmakers has started the Internet of Things Caucus, Politico concluded, from an investigation into the matter, that the government lacks a way to handle the new onset of the Internet of Things and the challenges those things bring.
The Internet of Things is defined as anything that uses any sort of "smart" technology: it mitigates machine-to-machine communication, it uses cloud-based computing, it networks data-gathering sensors together, it uses mobile, virtual technology through an instant connection. This can range from Web-linked gadgets like FitBit to drones, from smart streetlights to seaports and electrical panels.
According to Politico, there are about two dozen federal agencies that cover the category of new technologies, and no laws have been offered to regulate the Internet of Things.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has become the de facto police force of situations involving the Internet of Things, but it does so without a true mandate from Congress. The same is also true for other federal agencies that have taken up questions about such technology, without realizing how all such things are part of "the same animal," Politico says.
For example, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration are both dealing with how to handle privately operated drones and driverless cars. But none of their work on these new technologies is coordinated.
In November, a While House task force issued a report in which it looked at cybersecurity issues related to new technology, and how that related to national security and emergency preparedness. It concluded that the United States had until about 2020 to either become a success or failure in those categories.
If it fails to lead, the country will cope "with the consequences for generations," the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee said in the report.
Beyond that report, however, Politico says that the controversies and challenges that come with the Internet of Things has barely shown up on the government's radar.
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