US appeal court rules smart meter data collection infringes privacy

US appeal court rules smart meter data collection infringes privacy

An appeal court has ruled that the Fourth Amendment protects the energy consumption data collected by smart meters.

The Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that individuals have a reasonable expectation that this data should remain private, and that the government’s access of it constitutes a ‘search’.

In early 2017, Privacy International and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) submitted an amicus brief in this case, which is the first case in the US to address whether the Fourth Amendment protects smart meter data.

The brief explained that aggregate smart meter data collected from someone’s home in 15-minute intervals could be used to infer, for example, whether they tend to cook meals in the microwave or on the cooker; whether they make breakfast; whether and how often they use exercise equipment, such as a treadmill; and whether they have an in-home alarm system.

And these inferences, in turn, can permit intimate deductions about a person’s lifestyle, including their occupation, health, religion, sexuality, and financial circumstances.

The court acknowledged that smart meter data “reveals information about the happenings inside a home”. Moreover, it more generally recognised that the “ever-accelerating pace of technological development carries serious privacy implications” and that smart meters “are no exception”.

In 2017, over 57 million smart meters were installed in American homes and now more than 40 per cent of American households have a smart meter. Experts predict that number will rise to 80 per cent by 2020.

A European Union directive has mandated that 80 per cent of EU meters be smart by 2020 and it is estimated that approximately 200 million smart meters will be deployed by that time. Parts of Asia are also experiencing a wave of smart meter deployment, with China expected to deploy 400 million and Japan expected to deploy 60 million by 2020.

As smart meters continue to roll out around the world, Privacy International said it expects further challenges to the “serious risks” that they pose to the right to privacy.

Share icon
Share this article: