Germany Bans The Sale Of Smartwatches For Children

Smartwatches come in a wide variety of models. All of them are very attractive to the eye, with which, they have managed to capture the attention of all consumers.

Have you considered smartwatches for kids as a gift option ? If so, perhaps you should consider some important aspects.

In the first place, a smartwatch (whose translation into Spanish is “smart watch”) consists of a portable device that can be worn on the wrist and has multiple functions. All of them with Internet access, so they can be synchronized with other devices.

Smartwatches were originally created to keep people in touch. This is supposed to make life easier and bring people closer together. However, the reality has turned out to be different.

For example, children’s devices that have built-in GPS can help locate children in an emergency situation. Others are dedicated to keeping track of their health status.

Various devices can be found on the market that help parents distract their children while they perform other activities. In this sense, too much responsibility has been delegated to devices.

Recently, the Federal Network Agency of Germany issued an official statement in which the sale of smartwatches for children between 5 and 12 years of age is prohibited .

Reasons why smartwatches for kids are banned

The official statement explains that, almost all smartwatches for children:

1. They contain a SIM card  with which parents can control the smartwatch, and make it call an arbitrary phone number. These restricted calls can be activated remotely through an app, available for iOS and Android.
2. They are equipped with a function whereby a microphone and speaker can be accessed .  These allow you to call any number, listen to their conversations and what is happening in their environment, without the child noticing.
3. They have GPS, GSM and WiFi technologies for geolocation of children 24 hours a day.

These special functions, according to Jochen Homann, president of the Federal Network Agency, not only allow parents to listen to, but also record without permission, people close to children such as their teachers, which is not allowed in Germany.

In addition to the vulnerability to children’s privacy,  these devices can be susceptible to hackers, spies, and criminal stalkers seeking information.

Measures taken

According to the Agency there are a large number of providers in the German market that offer these smartwatches for children with positioning functions, such as: calls, alarms, text messages and remote control monitoring.

The Agency has advised that:

• Schools must be very aware of the clocks that their students wear. Especially those that have the supervisory function built in.
• Those who have bought some of these smart devices must destroy them, so that they are useless.
• Owners must document the destruction of the device, literally, and also submit evidence via the Internet.

The situation is so serious that, after having received the evidence of destruction of the watch, the authorities will send them a certificate of destruction, which confirms the definitive elimination of the information shared online.

Previous statement by the German Federal Network Agency

It should be noted that this is not the first time that the German Federal Network Agency has notified citizens to destroy a certain device.

In February last year, Germany banned the sale of the doll (My Friend Cayla) with an Internet connection. Similarly, for similar reasons, it labeled it as an espionage device for revealing personal data of the owners.

Apparently, the dolls were equipped with bluetooth, which allows listening and talking with children.

However, it was warned that this information could be hacked by hackers. That is why those who had acquired the chat recorder doll were also asked to destroy it immediately.

On that occasion, the president of the Agency said that objects that have hidden cameras and microphones, which transmit data inadvertently, endanger people’s privacy. And also, it is applicable to children’s toys.

Although smartwatches for children seem like a good gift option, it is important to keep these recommendations in mind so as not to give personal information to criminals. The important thing is to take care of the privacy and security of all family members.