Senate Passes DIGIT Act to Focus on Internet of Things

The Senate voted to pass the Developing Innovation and Growing the Internet of Things (DIGIT) Act last week to establish an interagency panel to provide recommendations and a report on the internet of things. The “internet of things” refers to the growing number of connected and interconnected devices that work in consort with each other to provide services.

According to the legislation introduced by Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE), estimates indicate that more than 125 billion devices will be connected to the internet by 2030. Through interconnectivity in the internet of things, these devices have “the potential to generate trillions of dollars in new economic activity around the world in the transportation, energy, agriculture, manufacturing, and health care sectors.”

Developing the internet of things is noted as “vital in furthering innovation and the development of emerging technologies” and plays a “key role in developing artificial intelligence and advanced computing capabilities.”

According to the bill, the federal government can utilize this technology to better deliver services to the public and improve their efficiency in doing so.

The legislation creates a working group comprised of stakeholders and government agencies and a steering committee within the Department of Commerce to advise the working group.

The working group will identify regulations, statutes, grant practices, budgetary or jurisdictional challenges, and other sector-specific policies that are inhibiting, or could inhibit, the development or deployment of the internet of things; consider policies or programs that encourage and improve coordination among agencies that have responsibilities that are relevant to the objectives of the legislation; and consider recommendations made by the steering committee and act on those recommendations.

The working group will also examine how federal agencies can benefit from using the internet of things; the use of internet of things technology by federal agencies as of the date on which the working group performs the examination; the preparedness and ability of federal agencies to adopt internet of things technology as of the date on which the working group performs the examination and in the future; and any additional security measures that federal agencies may need to take to safely and securely use the internet of things, including measures that ensure the security of critical infrastructure and enhance the resiliency of federal systems against cyber threats to the internet of things.

The legislation passed by unanimous consent in the Senate and now heads to the House for consideration.