We live in the world where the machines and devices we use every day are connecting to one another more and more. The spread of the "Internet of Things" has become so prevalent that it's affecting the way we manage retail, the military and inventing. In fact, it's become so big that it has attracted the attention of the U.S. Congress.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Rep. Suzan Delbene (D-Wash.) announced on Monday that they were starting the Congressional Caucus on the Internet of Things. The caucus will be a group of lawmakers focused on understanding the Internet of Things, as well as keeping Congress in the loop regarding IoT-related technology, according to Ars Technica.
It's uncertain how helpful this caucus will be. Congress has a long history of misunderstanding the tech of the day and misapplying laws in a way that is harmful, including the way it handled the issues of cybersecurity, SOPA, Net Neutrality and Aereo without fully understanding who or what they were from a technological standpoint.
However, Representatives Issa and Delbene both have a notable history of handling tech affairs in Congress. Issa opposed the Stop Online Piracy Act and cosponsored the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act. Rep. Delbene was among those asking for greater transparency regarding the NSA after Snowden revealed how widespread their web of tracking was.
While "Internet of Things" is considered a bit of a cliché by most tech writers and creators, it's still a rising issue. Analysts predict that we will have more than 20 billion connected objects in the world by 2020, according to ZDNet. The Internet of Things was also a common theme at this year's CES event.
