This article looks at the trends and development prospects of the Internet of Things. The Internet of Things is viewed as a strategic factor in economic growth that leads to the emergence of new business segments, changes in the existing business models, the structure of industry markets, economy, and society in general, and evolution of the legal matter. The newly developed socio-economic relations are transforming into legal relations. Smart contracts suggest looking at the classical legal doctrine of contractual law from a different angle. The objective of the research is to examine the specific features and development prospects of the Internet of Things, analyze the existing frameworks of its legal coverage, their advantages and disadvantages, and suggest optimal conditions for the regulation of the Internet of Things. In the course of the creation of this article, the following methods are used: methods of gathering and studying individual facts; the generalization method; the method of scientific abstraction; the method of pattern recognition; methodological objectivity, specificity, and pluralism. According to the conclusion made in this article, the Internet of Things represents a network of identified objects that interact with each other and with the external environment via the Internet and embedded systems without human involvement. The usage of the Internet of Things in the context of big data leads to information legal relations when information can serve as an object of economic turnover. At the same time, from the perspective of civil law, exchange of information is viewed as rendering service or relations connected with results of intellectual activity, including databases and know-how. However, these concepts do not apply to the sphere of the Internet of Things. Thus, it is necessary to develop an approach that would make provisions for a legal framework allowing defining information as a subject of civil transactions.

The goal of the research is to define the prospects of further digital growth in Russia and to assess the current state of national digitalization. Global digitalization is an ongoing tactical project for the introduction of new technologies in all areas of activity, as well as a strategic direction that will influence Russia’s future position in the world. Currently, the level of development of digital processes in our country is at the middle or low level (judging by some parameters). The article presents a cross-country comparison of various indicators and indices of digitalization. Methods used for the research were comparative analysis, analysis of legal documents, system analysis of sources. Apart from cross-country comparison, the article compares digitalization processes, financial inclusion and growth of financial literacy among the population. As a result of the study, a conclusion about the interconnection of these processes is made. Thus, the digitalization contributes to the growth of the financial inclusion level, and, on the other hand, financial literacy contributes to financial inclusion, while the indicated inclusion stimulates the growth of the GDP. In addition to that, active use of digital services, being the foundation of national digitalization growth, is observed among the population with economic interest and availability of free savings. The authors believe that further digital growth requires higher economic interest of the population in these processes. The research results can be reasonably applied when planning state programs for the development of digitalization. The overall digital development of the state is shaped by the development of these processes in the regions. This requires consistent work at the level of the said regions that are very dissimilar, both economically and digitally. Assessment of “digital maturity” of regions is a long-run objective necessary for effective monitoring of national development goals.