Is IOT a Threat to Consumer Consent? The Perils of Wearable Devices’ Health Data Exposure

Abstract

The ubiquitous diffusion of wearable Internet of Things (IOT) devices is leading to growing concerns regarding the privacy, security, and potential misuse of the large volume of generated data. In this manuscript, we examine how wearable IOT devices and related businesses can violate or bypass protections of sensitive personal data. We discuss the IOT-Healthcare-Wearable Ecosystem, identify roles played by different entities, explain wearables’ connectivity with other entities like employers and insurance companies, illustrate related HIPAA regulations, factors driving health data exposure and develop a taxonomy that indicates varying levels of end-user vulnerability for different use-case scenarios. The implications of this research are relevant to lifestyle technologies, healthcare providers, pharma-retailers, application developers, hardware manufacturers, market researchers, and policy makers who are involved in facilitating manufacture, endorsement distribution and regulation of instruments that aid in collection, mining, access, storage and redistribution of data. Finally, we offer recommendations for different ecosystem entities to contain health data exposure.

Keywords: Internet of Things, Wearable devices, Consumer rights, Informed Consent, HIPAA, Privacy, Regulatory Policy