Consumer Groups Push New Law Fighting 'Zombie' IoT Devices

Long-time Slashdot reader chicksdaddy writes:
A group of U.S. consumer advocacy groups on Wednesday proposed legislation to address the growing epidemic of 'zombie' Internet of Things (IoT) devices that have had software support cut off by their manufacturer, Fight To Repair News reports.

The Connected Consumer Product End of Life Disclosure Act is a collaboration between Consumer Reports, US PIRG, the Secure Resilient Future Foundation (SRFF) and the Center for Democracy and Technology. It requires manufacturers of connected consumer products to disclose for how long they will provide technical support, security updates, or bug fixes for the software and hardware that are necessary for the product to operate securely.

The groups proposed legal requirements that manufacturers 'must notify consumers when their devices are nearing the end of life and provide guidance on how to handle the device's end of life,' while end-of-life notifications 'must include details about features that will be lost, and potential vulnerabilities and security risks that may arise.' And when an ISP-provided device (like a router) reaches its end of life, the ISP must remove them.

'The organizations are working with legislators at the state and federal level to get the model legislation introduced,' according to Fight To Repair News.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.