German regulators have banned an internet-connected doll
called "My Friend Cayla" that can chat with children, warning Friday
that it was a de facto "hidden spying device".
Parents were urged to disable the interactive toy by the
Federal Network Agency which enforces bans on surveillance devices.
"Items that conceal cameras or microphones and that are
capable of transmitting a signal, and therefore can transmit data without
detection, compromise people's privacy," said its head, Jochen Homann.
"This applies in particular to children's toys. The
Cayla doll has been banned in Germany. This is also to protect the most
vulnerable in our society."
The doll works by sending a child's audio question
wirelessly to an app on a digital device, which translates it into text and
searches the internet for an answer, then sends back a response that is voiced
by the doll.
The agency warned that anything a child says, or other
people's conversations, could be recorded and transmitted without parents'
knowledge.
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