The Consumer and Market Oversight Agency (ACM) and the Communications Agency (AT) will investigate this matter further. The results of the study should be published in the summer.

Updates

Through the investigation, ACM and AT are looking into compliance with the rules and are preparing for new rules to come. For example, according to the rules, a smart device must be digitally secure. Vendors must also provide functionality and security updates to the software and notify consumers when they become available. Also, vendors should explain the consequences if updates are not installed. If smart device vendors don’t adhere to the rules, regulators can impose penalties.

Researchers will buy many smart devices in physical stores and on the Internet. In doing so, they look at the information they receive about, among other things, digital security, update policy, functions, other devices with which they can be connected, and software systems with which they can work. The devices are then tested and how suppliers are handling upgrade commitments.

guiding rules

The European Commission has recently modified and expanded the rules for smart devices. This relates to the various guidelines on sales, price, unfair trade practices, and consumer rights that ACM oversees.

AT, in turn, ensures that devices that communicate wirelessly comply with guidelines for electrical health, safety and undisturbed use. From mid-2024, digital security requirements will be added for devices that can be connected to the Internet via, for example, 4G, 5G, WiFi, Bluetooth or Zigbee.