'Holistic View' Needed in Government Development of IoT Rules, Senators Urge

Federal agencies must take a "holistic view" when developing IoT requirements and the Department of Commerce should help foster such collaboration, urged a bipartisan group of senators Wednesday. In a letter to NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling, Sens. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Deb Fischer, R-Neb., and Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said the request for public comment (RFC) that NTIA recently launched (see 1604180065) is a good step and complements the group's Developing Innovation and Growing the Internet of Things (Digit) Act introduced in March to come up with a IoT national strategy (see 1603010053). But the senators said stakeholders warned that different agencies could develop conflicting IoT requirements, creating regulatory silos. "Stakeholders seem concerned that conflicting regulation could create risks for consumers and dampen IoT innovation," they wrote in the letter. "As is pointed out in NTIA's RFC, 'Thus far, no U.S. agency is taking a holistic view.'" The senators said "strong attention" is needed on proposals that foster better collaboration across sectors and agencies.