16 Jan 2015
Phil Howard wrote an article about internet governance for the Yale Books Blog.
The excitement of this year’s CES—the enormous technology show and tell event that just ended in Las Vegas—was about the “internet of things.” Stoves and baby bottles will soon be smart, and the devices you already have will be smarter. Behind closed doors and in private chat rooms, the industry buzz was over rumors that the FCC may start treating the internet like a public utility. There are good reasons for doing so, and they were all on display.
The next internet is not going to be something we experience through a browser. By 2030, it is likely to be a network of some 30 billion devices, most of which communicate with each other about you. Unfortunately, this year’s CES reveals little hope for open standards or a universal language for how they do that. It’s time for regulatory guidance to make that happen.