Legal patchwork rules Internet of Things and its users

With smart gadgets already flooding the market and thousands more expected in coming years, the Internet of Things is emerging amid a regulatory wilderness. The breakneck pace of this technology has far outpaced the legal system's ability to keep up with it, many experts contend. Because of legal loopholes, consumers often lack any right to control how long their data is kept, who it is shared with and what is collected about them, including such personal information as their finances, mental health, political leanings and sexual orientation.

And while ideas differ on what should be done about that, there is widespread agreement that it will be crucial to make sure the intimate details these devices gather on everyone won't be strewed willy-nilly across the Web. Neil Richards, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis, believes lawmakers eventually will do more to protect the personal data captured by the growing array of smart gadgets. But he cautioned that "the scope of that protection and how long it takes to get there is absolutely up for grabs."