Internet of Things and Data Analytics Handbook

43PRIVACY AND SECURITY LEGAL ISSUES

FRANCOISE GILBERT^*

Greenberg Traurig LLP, Silicon Valley, East Palo Alto, CA, USA

43.1 UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS

43.1.1 Significant Volume of Data

Connected devices and Data Analytics (DA) projects can collect a wide range of data about a specific individual. This data may include, for example, data related to a person’s habits (e.g., sleep patterns or distance walked), the person’s precise geographic location (including presence at or absence from home, a bar, or a theater), financial account numbers, or health data (such as weight or blood pressure). Since data storage is cheap and given that even smallest IoT devices have the capability to store more data than an entire computer system occupying hundreds of square feet used to be able to store, there is usually little concern about the amount, volume, or nature of the data collected.

43.1.2 Data Collected over Time

In addition, this data is generally collected regularly and over long periods. For example, devices that collect weight or sleep patterns are likely to collect an individual’s records on a daily or weekly basis for an entire year or longer. Devices collecting information about electricity consumption, such as a smart meter, measure both the volume and amount of electricity used in a dwelling all day, every day over several years.

43.1.3 Eavesdropping Ability

Given the nature, variety, volume, and periodicity of the collection, transfer, use, processing, and sharing of the ...