Privacy experts have warned that a new breed of smart electricity meters could reveal too much about our daily lives to third parties. Read on to discover why you might need to keep more of an eye on your meter one day…
New, smarter electricity meters are being installed worldwide to reduce energy use but privacy experts believe they will reveal a whole host of new information about the consumers they monitor.
The smart meters will send data on household consumption directly to utility firms ending the infrequent need for consumers to send in their own readings.
Experts at a three-day conference in Madrid have suggest that the meters will reveal far more than our energy use, giving observers a picture of our eating, sleeping and television watching habits. With cars set to become more and more reliant of electric power, the meters could also monitor our travel too.
Christopher Wolf of Washington-based pressure group, Future of Privacy forum, says: “The collection, storage and retention of this data makes it vulnerable to security breaches and government access. the issue is how much do they really need to know and how long do they need to keep it?”
8 million smart meters have been installed in the US while the European Parliament passed legislation in April which aims to have 80% of electricity consumers reliant on them by 2020.
Commentators fear utility firms might sell data on their customers to marketeers to allow them to pitch advertising focused on their specific habits.
Insurance companies could even be able to tell that you are driving frequently when it considers you to be sleep deprived and up your premiums.
Due 2020 | TBA | Future of Privacy (via Independent)
