UK lawmakers have expressed concern that smart products are enabling growth of tech-enabled domestic abuse. The report compiled by MPs called on the government to take action to tackle the situation.
The Culture, Media and Sport Parliamentary Committee claimed there are on average nine such “smart” products in UK homes, and it found they were being used to “monitor, harass, coerce and control” victims by collecting recordings and images. Fitness trackers, home security systems and baby monitors are among the devices that MPs warned are growing the issue of tech-enabled domestic abuse.
Since the introduction of consumer products like the Amazon Alexa and mart watch, smart devices have become a common sight in household across the UK. This is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years, with the committee estimating that by 2050 there will be 24 billion interconnected devices worldwide.
“While the rising popularity of connected technology has brought undoubted benefits to everyday life, the flip side is the real risk some of these gadgets pose to privacy and personal safety online,” said Dame Caroline Dinenage, who chairs the Committee. “The government must make it a priority to work with manufacturers to tackle this technology-facilitated abuse, which is only going to get worse in the future.”
The report comes off an ongoing investigation begun in May 2022. Along with considering the potential benefit, the Committee explored the harms of such connected technology, which included the use of smart speakers and virtual assistants.
Evidence asserted that the “vast majority” of domestic abuse cases now feature some sort of cyber element, including the use of spyware and the monitoring of movements and collection of recordings and photos of victims. Children were deemed as being particularly at risk from this kind of threat, as young people are considered more likely to use smart devices.
Following the report, Dame Caroline called for the police and criminal justice system to be better equipped to deal with the problem. This included calls for the Government and Information Commissioner’s Office to make sure products used in schools and by young people at home have privacy settings that are intuitive with age-appropriate terms and conditions for children.
The Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales Nicole Jacobs echoed sentiments that tech firms should be responsible in addressing the problem.
“Too often, victims and survivors are expected to keep themselves safe from tech abuse, rather than tech companies taking steps to prevent harm,” she said.
UK lawmakers are currently in the process of pushing through the controversial Online Safety Bill. The bill will see a new regulatory regime address illegal and harmful content online and hold the platform providers responsible for not doing enough to protect users, but in particular children, from viewing it. The bill does not include smart home devices, but Jacobs insisted off the back of this report that the government should hold tech companies to the same scrutiny on their smart devices too.
Although unregulated for much of its tenure, IoT devices and coming under increasing security across the Western world. Last year, the EU announced plans for the first bloc-wide legislation to impose cybersecurity rules on manufacturers of such devices. Covering both hardware and software, manufacturers and developers will be responsible for the security of connected devices, hitting those non-compliant with a financial penalty.
Although not compulsory, the US has followed a similar pattern on focusing on IoT device security. Last month, the White House announced a voluntary labelling programme to differentiate which IoT devices have met security criteria.
A UK government spokesperson said that next year they are looking to plan to bolster cyber-security standards across devices.
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