Potential Legislation Could Require End-of-Life Disclosures for Consumer Tech

An expiration date helps to make sure you aren’t buying fast-turning foods at the grocery store, and now, the technology industry is making strides to establish a similar standard. A new industry report recommends new legislation pushing for End-of-Life (EoL) disclosure, which would, in theory, allow businesses and consumers alike to make more informed purchasing decisions. What does this mean for your business?

The Connected Consumer Products End of Life Disclosure Act

A joint report issued by Consumer Reports, US Public Interest Research Group, and the Secure Resilient Future Foundation recommends the above-titled (please don’t make us type it out again) legislation.

While the name of the legislation might be a mouthful, it’s an important step to informing consumers about anticipated timelines for updates and end of support. This standard might be more important than ever since devices are inherently produced with connectivity in mind. Unsupported devices will no longer work as intended, creating problems for both consumers and businesses alike.

While technology cannot last forever, quick turnaround time for end-of-life and end-of-support events leads to the following detriments to the consumer.

More Electronic Waste

All electronic devices that no longer work can be considered e-waste. Of course, all devices eventually reach this state, and more e-waste is produced today than ever before. Plenty of it goes unrecycled, too, lending itself to massive landfill problems around the world. Since many devices don’t work without their connectivity, you can imagine how much waste an EoL creates.

Security Issues

Even if devices stop working as intended after an EoL, they still hold data, especially if they haven’t been properly wiped. Additionally, EoL devices left on a network could be attacked by an attack they aren’t prepared to defend against since they no longer receive security updates.

Consumer Outrage

It’s frustrating to say the least when you spend money on something that is almost immediately obsolete. According to the US Federal Trade Commission, 89 percent of 184 total product websites offered no information regarding how long support would be provided.

This Law Would Promote (or Require) Consumer Transparency

The proposed regulations would require any Internet-connected device to disclose a timeframe for how long support would last, thus encouraging companies to place a greater focus on user security.

It seems like it would be a win for consumers, as manufacturers would be held legally responsible for communicating to consumers just how long they can expect their device to last. This would also keep businesses from making too many simple “smart” devices, as they would have to maintain them all. Any business owner with connected devices knows how much of a pain this is already.

On that note, security is always an issue, even for non-EoL devices, so why not make it a little easier by working with Network Integration Specialists, Inc.? Learn more by calling us today at (804) 264-9339.