Home Press Release Congress Just Got Serious About a National Strategy for the Internet of Things

Congress Just Got Serious About a National Strategy for the Internet of Things

by Joshua New
by
Center for Data Innovation

WASHINGTON (September 12, 2016) – The Center for Data Innovation today congratulated the House of Representatives for passing H.Res. 847, a resolution calling for a national strategy for the Internet of Things to promote economic growth and consumer empowerment. Daniel Castro, Director of the Center for Data Innovation, issued the following statement:

The House voted today resolving that the United States should develop a national Internet of Things strategy is a major milestone for ensuring the United States can capture the tremendous benefits offered by the technology. This resolution, which mirrors a Senate resolution that passed unanimously in March 2016, is a clear signal from Congress that the federal government should act now to begin developing a national strategy to support the growth of the Internet of Things, promote innovation, stimulate economic growth, and tackle pressing social challenges.

The vast arrays of connected devices that make up the Internet of Things and the data they generate can serve as a powerful platform for innovation that promises to be as beneficial and disruptive as the Internet before it. The private sector can and should lead the development of the Internet of Things, but the technology faces some complicated challenges that the private sector alone cannot solve. Just as the Federal Communication Commission’s National Broadband Plan helped coordinate and accelerate the deployment of broadband Internet, a national strategy for the Internet of Things will ensure that the United States positions itself to capture the considerable economic and social benefits of this important technology.

A national strategy for the Internet of Things, designed in concert with public and private sector stakeholders to accelerate deployment of the technology and overcome regulatory barriers that limit its growth, will be a boon to both public and private sector applications of the technology, national competitiveness, and quality of life for all Americans. Now that Congress has formally expressed its support for a national strategy, the Obama Administration, and its successor, should act quickly to launch an effort to develop one.

The Center for Data Innovation first proposed that the United States should develop a comprehensive national strategy for the Internet of Things in its seminal 2015 report, “Why Countries Need National Strategies for the Internet of Things.”

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