Hasta La Creative!

Congressional hearings aren’t always contentious; but an hour-long hearing on the Internet of Things held by the House Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet on Tuesday was decidedly warm and fuzzy. It may have had something to do with the lopsided roster of witnesses, which, rather than including even one privacy advocate, consisted entirely of representatives from industry groups: The App Association, the Information Technology Industry Council, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, and the Consumer Electronics Association.

Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of CEA, participated in the meeting, as did Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), who once served as chair of CEA, which owns and produces the monstrous annual tech event CES. Mr. Shapiro made a point of noting that 900, or 25%, of the 3,600 exhibitors at the most recent CES event showcased IoT related products.

So, it comes as no surprise that the general consensus among witnesses was that innovators should be free to innovate without the threat of overreaching privacy legislation getting in the way. Connected windshield wipers anyone?

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