Unboxing.IoT.Privacy
Project description
The Internet of Things (IoT) and the hyperconnectivity that goes with it is helping to create smart environments, cities and industries. IoT is also increasingly finding its way into our most private spaces: our homes. Thanks to their ability to connect to other devices, IoT devices can use their sensors and actuators to improve our daily lives. For example, they can promote our health, simplify our household tasks or automate our homes. However, realising such functionalities requires collecting data about us and our environment. Combining this data creates information from which numerous conclusions can be drawn about our habits or psychological states. In practice, however, determining which personal data is processed by the IoT and with whom it is shared is often impossible. In order to minimise the risk to our privacy, the focus has recently been on research and development of technical protective measures that are applied during the operation of IoT devices. However, it is often overlooked that the decision for or against the purchase and operation of an IoT device plays a decisive role in protecting privacy. However, while detailed information about the 'features' of an IoT device is usually available, the details about how personal data is processed remain hidden. Even experienced individuals can at best only guess whether devices require a permanent connection to the Internet and what data is shared with whom and for what purpose. To address these challenges, we propose in Unboxing.IoT.Privacy the development of a tool-supported, moderated and citizen-centred community platform for the privacy classification of IoT devices as a basis for an improved information procedure. The platform should enable IoT users and anyone interested to educate themselves and others about data processing and achieve sovereignty. In particular, challenges arising from the legal basis and special requirements for transparency should be addressed. To make the high dynamics and diversity of the IoT manageable, Unboxing.IoT.Privacy relies on the use of the power of the crowd, which has already been successfully tested in other areas. The aim is to break down the complexity of data protection and privacy protection and distribute it across the shoulders of many participants.
Duration: November 2023 - October 2026
Project members
Funding body
Unboxing.IoT.Privacy is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under the grant number 16KIS1931K.
