Those of us with children would do well to heed this warning.
Toys that “spy” on children are a rising, “frightening” threat, a new study from a consumer watchdog has warned.
The U.S. PIRG Education Fund noted that certain toys that record children’s voices, images, locations and other information pose a risk to children’s safety and privacy.
The organization also noted that an increasing number of toys are utilizing technological features — even when they do not appear to be doing so.
“It’s chilling to learn what some of these toys can do,” Teresa Murray, co-author of the “Trouble in Toyland 2023” report, said in a statement.
. . .
... technological toys are becoming an increasing security risk to children, as some have been caught improperly collecting and storing data — and even being hacked.
The growing threat of AI has also infiltrated the toy industry as this advanced, still experimental technology is being integrated into products advertised for children as young as 3 years old.
The agency advises shoppers to research the products on a child’s wish list “before buying a toy with a microphone, a camera, a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connection or any ability to collect information about young children.”
The report comes after the Federal Trade Commission accused Amazon of violating federal children’s privacy laws through its Alexa service by keeping the voice recordings of children, horror stories of hackers speaking to children through their baby monitors and an 11-year-old girl was kidnapped by a man she met through the online gaming platform Roblox.
There's more at the link.
I'm rather glad I grew up in an era where "smart" toys were unheard of. In fact, the only "smart" around was the "smarting" we felt after our parents whaled the tar out of us for stepping out of line! It was a different world then . . . if my parents punished us today as they did then, they'd be in jail for child abuse, even though nothing could have been further from their minds. They'd both been brought up in the "roaring Twenties" and Great Depression-era Britain, in which period children were very strictly disciplined if need be; and they brought us up in the same way. I daresay some of my readers can recall similar habits from their parents.
I'm glad I'm not a child today. When I look at all the "wokeness" seeking to corrupt them, over and above all the normal perils of childhood, it's a pretty nasty environment. Parents have their work cut out for them to keep their children's heads above water, so to speak.
Peter
Yup. And any electronic devise provided from the local school/leftist indoctrination center is also spying on everything around it. Any websites the schools/indoctrination centers recommend/require also will send beaucoup spyware upon said students' combonculators.
ReplyDeleteIt's to the point if anything is 'connected' it will collect data on you and the area around you and will report in to its real masters as soon as possible.
Now it's ANY electronic device... sigh
ReplyDeleteThey've come a long way since Mattel Electronics Football, which was probably the first profitable use of the Intel 4004.
ReplyDeleteMake you wonder about all that is being said on young folks' cell phones and tablets that parents don't know about but unknown others do?
ReplyDeleteAnd, speaking of spying.....when I visit a friend's house, or accompany someone to a friend of theirs house, I ask about Alexa, Echo or any other brands' "electronic helpers," all of which must listen to every word spoken to be useful, and inquire as to where their phones are at the moment.
ReplyDeleteIt is quite common for me to suggest "leave your phone inside and we'll talk on the porch" because I do know Amazon, et al, is listening through their devices, but do not know who is listening via a smart phone. More than once I've said, "I'll wait in the car" when my request is declined.
That someone would have an Alexa-like device in their home listening to every word spoken by each resident, baffles me.