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Children's Smartwatches Banned Over Recording Concerns: So What About Other Connected Devices?

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Parents in Germany are being urged to destroy children's smartwatches after a ruling by the government that they amount to spying devices.

The country's telecom regulator, the Federal Network Agency, says parents are using them to listen in to conversations in the classroom; and eavesdropping on or recording private conversations is illegal in Germany.

The issue is that the smartwatches have a SIM card and certain limited telephony functions, which are set up and controlled via an app. The end result is to provide the phone with a monitoring function rather like that of a baby alarm, allowing conversations to be recorded by parents.

"Using an app, parents can use such children's watches to listen unnoticed to the child's environment and they are to be regarded as unauthorized transmitting equipment," says Jochen Homann, president of the agency, in a statement.

It's now banned the sale of certain children's smartwatches, saying it's "already taken action against several offers on the internet". It's advising parents to destroy them, and send it proof that they have done so - and is also warning schools to be on their guard.

Internet-connected devices have come under fire on many occasions recently for leaking information; indeed, the Federal Network Agency recently banned a connected toy called My Friend Cayla on the grounds that the doll was recording children, and that the recordings could easily be hacked.

Similarly, both the European Consumer Organization (BEUC) and Norway's Consumer Council have warned that there were serious security concerns over children's smartwatches.

And earlier this year, the FBI issued a similar warning, commenting: "In some cases, toys with microphones could record and collect conversations within earshot of the device. Information such as the child’s name, school, likes and dislikes, and activities may be disclosed through normal conversation with the toy or in the surrounding environment."

However, in this case, the problem isn't hacking; it's the fact that these smartwatches are recording third parties without their knowledge or permission. And this means that many other devices could soon be banned too.

As the the Federal Network Agency points out, there are plenty of other devices that routinely contain recording abilities that may not immediately be obvious.

"Hidden cameras are especially common in watches, alarm clocks, smoke detectors, weather stations or lamps, but also in pop art flowers or power banks," it says. "Hidden microphones can be found, for example, in credit card dummies, charging cables or distribution sockets."

The signs are, then, that Germany may be about to crack down quite severely on quite a range of connected devices. It's asking consumers to report any gadgets that they have concerns about; the chances are there will be plenty.

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