What happens when the sun sets on a smart product?

A recent Federal Trade Commission investigation into one company’s decision to stop providing support for an Internet of Things (IoT) device illuminates some pitfalls IoT businesses should avoid in introducing and marketing these innovative products.

In that case, a company acquired the marketer of a “Smart Home Hub” and then decided to shut down support for the device, thereby rendering it inoperable. Although we closed that investigation, it raises broader issues about what happens when an IoT product or service, or the updates and support for them, stops. First, there are serious issues at play when consumers purchase products that unexpectedly stop functioning due to a unilateral decision by the company that sold it. Second, when a company stops providing technical support, including security updates, for an IoT device, consumers may be left with an out-of-date product that is vulnerable to critical security or privacy bugs. So, if you’re an IoT business, product designer, or marketer, this scenario should make a light bulb go on in your head.

Ask yourself:

• Are you selling a device, a service, or both? What are you telling consumers you’re selling?
• Are consumers getting a fixed-term rental or subscription, or are they getting something they will own and can rely on for the life of the device?
• Would reasonable consumers expect to be able to keep using the device – and have it be fully functional – if the company, even many years later, rides off into the sunset? Would they expect the device to have an “expiration date”?
• Could consumers keep using your device in the ways they would reasonably expect based on their experience with similar devices?
• What did you tell consumers at the outset – or what would they otherwise expect – about the security you would provide for the life of the device?