TORONTO; May 24, 2017 – Canadians prioritize regulatory reviews of drones, autonomous vehicles and online user agreements above those of other emerging technologies, according to new research from Accenture (NYSE: ACN) that weighs Canadian attitudes on government regulation of emergent technology-enabled products and services.
Four in 10 (40 percent) of the more than 1,000 Canadians surveyed as part of the research said that drones equipped with video cameras should be a key area for government regulatory review. Nearly as many Canadians said that key areas for government regulatory review should include autonomous (driverless) vehicles and for online user agreements for new products or services (each cited by 38 percent of respondents).
Other areas in which Canadians want to prioritize a regulatory review include connected homes and products, such as technology that controls a home’s lights, alarms, temperatures, or baby monitors from a mobile phone or other device (cited by 30 percent of respondents); social media, including privacy rights and/or guidelines around advertising (26 percent); ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft (26 percent); and sharing economy accommodations like Airbnb and HomeAway (23 percent).
Different levels of government in Canada have already established regulations around some emerging technologies. For example, the federal government recently announced new restrictions on where and when people can fly remote-controlled drones weighing more than 250 grams, which must be marked with the owner’s contact information. Autonomous vehicles are regulated at a provincial level, with Ontario the first province to set a pilot regulatory framework to permit testing. The regulation of home-sharing apps is dealt with at a municipal level. Toronto, for instance, is still drafting proposed regulations, while Vancouver has proposed new regulations for short-term rental.
The survey also asked whether Canadians believe the government should step in and provide more regulation, step off and provide less regulation, or step away because the industry or product is evolving well without any more regulation. The top five technologies that Canadians cited most as requiring more regulatory review were drones and autonomous vehicles (each cited by 64 percent of respondents), followed by ride-sharing services (51 percent), quasi-currencies like Bitcoin (49 percent), and online user agreements (46 percent).
“Canadians expect governments to step in and mitigate some of the risks associated with new products and services,” said Dave Telka, a managing director at Accenture who leads the company’s Public Service practice in Canada. “With new, disruptive players quickly entering the market, governments must work with business to provide assurance that there is a regulatory process that creates the best situation for Canadians.”
The survey results also found a generational divide regarding what technologies should be considered for more regulation. Millennials, those aged 18-34, are more likely than other age groups to prioritize the review of video or music streaming services and ride sharing services, with 26 percent ranking it among their top three technologies that should be a priority for review, compared with only 19 percent of Generation Xers (age 35-54) and 17 percent of baby boomers (age 55 and over). Baby boomers are more likely than other age groups to prioritize the regulatory review of online user agreements (44 percent of boomers, compared with 37 percent of Gen Xers and 30 percent of millennials).
In many instances, baby boomers are more likely than younger Canadians to want the government to step in and provide more regulation around autonomous vehicles (75 percent of boomers, vs. 65 percent of Gen Xers and 49 percent of millennials), drones (77 percent of boomers, vs. 63 percent of Gen Xers and 47 percent of millennials) and ride sharing services (59 percent of boomers, vs. 49 percent of Gen Xers and 42 percent of millennials).
The survey also found that many Canadians believe the government should step away from regulating certain technologies because they are evolving well without the need for additional regulation. For instance, half (51 percent) of Canadians want government to step away from further regulating video/music streaming, and almost as many want government to stop regulating connected homes/products (48 percent), social media (46 percent) and artificial intelligence (43 percent).
Methodology
For this research, the Ipsos I-Say panel interviewed a sample of 1,003 Canadians for Accenture between March 27 and March 29, 2017. The precision of online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the results are accurate to within +/- 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what the results would have been had all Canadian adults been polled.
About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions – underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network – Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With approximately 401,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com.
