Germany bans kids smartwatches, asks parents to destroy them

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Germany’s Telecoms regulator the Federal Network Agency (The Bundesnetzagentur) which oversees the country’s telecommunications has banned smartwatches for kids in the country calling them spying devices. It has also urged parents to destroy these watches mostly used by children between the ages of 5 and 12 years.

The decision came months after the agency banned “My Friend Cayla Doll” citing that the smart toy conducts surveillance, listens to kids conversations and responds to them in real-time. Bundesnetzagentur described the doll as an authentic example of “unauthorized wireless transmitting equipment.”

In the latest decision, the agency also described these watches as “unauthorized transmitters.” Bundesnetzagentur President Jochen Homann stated, “According to our investigations, parents were using the watches, for example, to listen in on teachers during class.” 

While authorities are asking parents to get rid of these watches, a crackdown against some of the firms selling them online has already been initiated. Schools in the country are also asked to be more vigilant about using such watches. 

“Via an app, parents can use such children’s watches to listen unnoticed to the child’s environment, and they are to be regarded as an unauthorized transmitting system,” said Homann.