EMILEE COBLENTZ, USA TODAY
November 17, 2023
Toys that spy on children are a growing threat, according to the U.S. Public Interest Research Group which published a report Thursday covering the dangers of certain products as well as purchases of recalled toys.
"Smart toys" specifically, are causing concern and the industry isn't slowing down. The global market for smart toys grew to $16.7 million this year, from $14.1 million in 2022, according to a large market research firm, and is expected to at least double by 2027.
Before purchasing that "must have" smart toy on your child's Christmas wish list, here's what to know about the risks.
AI ChatGPT-powered smart toys: How to keep your kids safe this holiday
Risks of AI-enabled toys and smart toys
With the incredible growth of artificial intelligence, has come unexplored threats. As researchers continue to gather information, here's what to know about the potential of these toys according to the PIRG.
AI-enabled toys with a camera of microphone may be able to assess a child's reactions using facial expressions or voice inflection, allowing the toy to try to form a relationship with the child
AI-enabled toys may gather and share information that could risk a child's safety
Some smart toys can collect data on your child and transmit it to a company’s external servers
Smart toys can collect, store and use a lot of data about children
Smart toys microphones and cameras can pose safety concerns
Breaches and hacks can expose children's data
In-app purchases can cost parents money
Smart toys may gather data on children and use it for marketing
Platforms may include inappropriate content for download
Smart toys may hinder the development of young children
“Parents and caregivers should understand the toy’s features,” Samuel Levine, director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) shared with the PIRG.
According to Levine, parents should ask these two questions:
Does the toy allow the child to connect to the internet and send emails or connect to social media?
Does it have a microphone or camera? If so, when will it record, and will you know it’s recording?
New bill for social media: Kids under 13 would be banned. Here's what parents want.
Other questions parents should ask before making a purchase
The PIRG has its own checklist on what to note about a toy before purchasing. Check the parent safety controls and read the fine print, but also ask yourself:
Does it have a microphone?
Does it have a camera?
Does it connect to Wi-Fi?
Does it connect to Bluetooth?
Does it collect personal information on a child under 13-years-old?
Does it collect data on anyone of any age?
Is there a privacy policy?
Does it have an app?
Does it allow your child to spend money?
Instead of simply listening to secrets, the new Hello Barbie doll can talk back.
Advocates started sounding the alarm in 2016
Warnings started in 2016 after Fisher Price’s Smart Toy Bear, created for children ages 3 through 8 as “an interactive learning friend that talks, listens, and remembers" was found with a security flaw that potentially allowed hackers to collect information on kids.
That same year, Hello Barbie, Mattel’s Internet-connected iconic doll, left computer security researchers spinning when the app was accused of letting "hackers eavesdrop on communications between it and the cloud servers it connects to," Fortune reported.
The Senate published an extensive report right before Christmas in 2016, outlining just how bad these privacy concerns were. Most recently, this past spring, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice accused Amazon of violating children's privacy laws when it refused to delete voice recordings of children who had used its Alexa service. Amazon was also accused of gathering geolocation data on kids.
Search: USA TODAY's database of recalled products, toys
Recalled toys keep being purchased
One of the most urgent issues raised in the PIRG report relates to parents buying toys online, or purchasing them second-hand, without knowing whether the toy has been recalled for any reason. There are ways to know.
Check whether the toys you’re considering buying have been recalled at cpsc.gov/recalls
Do a keyword search on saferproducts.gov before your purchase
If you have a serious incident with a toy, alert the CPSC by filing a report at saferproducts.gov
Search USA TODAY's database for your desired product Consumer Product Recalls | USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Toys that spy on children are a growing concern: report
YI-JIN YU
November 16, 2023
A new report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund, a national network of consumer advocacy groups, is raising the alarm about a potential rising threat posed by smart toys for children ahead of the holiday gifting season.
In a news release Thursday, the organization likened the growing toy category to spying.
"It's chilling to learn what some of these toys can do," Teresa Murray, a U.S. PIRG Education Fund consumer watchdog and co-author of the report, said in a statement. "Smart toys can be useful, fun or educational, but interacting with some of them can create frightening situations for too many families."
PHOTO: Stock photo of a child playing in a nursery. (STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images)
Smart toys, such as those that can be linked to mobile apps and cameras, those with microphones, Wi-Fi capability, location trackers or more, include products as simple as toy dolls and plushes that can "listen" or "speak" to more complicated devices like drones, smart speakers, smartwatches and virtual reality headsets.
MORE: Amazon facing lawsuit over Alexa 'eavesdropping'
The U.S. PIRG Education Fund said in its annual "Trouble in Toyland" report that smart toys can open the door to a variety of unknown risks for children and families, with the possibility of data breaches and hacking, potential violations of children's privacy laws, and exposure to "inappropriate or harmful material without proper filtering and parental controls."
MORE: Watchdog group says kids vulnerable to inappropriate content on popular game Roblox
The consumer advocacy group recommends that parents and anyone buying a toy or gift for a child this upcoming holiday season consider the following tips:
Perform a web search about a smart toy and read reviews to check for any red flags.
Find out the features of a smart toy and what it can do. Ask questions such as, "Does it connect to Bluetooth, the internet or social media? Does it collect a child's private information? Does it record audio and video? Can it send online messages or emails?"
Read a smart toy's privacy policy, not just a toy company's privacy policy, and understand what kind of data is collected and how it is used.
The U.S. PIRG Education Fund is also calling in its report for more federal legislation to further protect children's online privacy and introduce stronger labeling standards for smart toys.
The group highlighted its support for the expansion of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, and the Transparency Over Toys Spying Act, or TOTS Act, which were introduced in the Senate and House earlier this year, would require the Federal Trade Commission to establish new labeling rules for smart toys, and would require toy user agreements or privacy policies to state "how personal information may be collected and used by the manufacturer or other entity."
COPPA -- which some experts worry may make the internet less safe for some children and teens by censoring important content or allowing parents to surveil them in unsafe households -- passed out of committee earlier this year and has been sent to the Senate for consideration. The TOTS Act is currently awaiting a vote in the House Innovation, Data, and Commerce subcommittee.
Consumer Reports has previously warned parents to "be cautious" when giving children smart toys to play with. The group said in a 2018 report after testing internet-connected toys that although their small sampling showed there was "no immediate threat" to children's safety, the toys did "follow a trend we see elsewhere with internet-connected devices in that companies could be doing a better job protecting customer data."
New report says toys that 'spy' on kids are on the rise originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com
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