There is a current trend within cyber security with the advancement of spy toys. These things are now
connecting to the net via Bluetooth technology to enhance the traditional dolls entertainment factors. That being said, many claim that these new technological advances are being used to store and monitor a person’s everyday behavior and is a rights encroachment. No one really knows where all this recorded cloud storage personal information is being kept, or even what it used for? Maybe that’s why Germany has banned this product all together.
Germany's Federal Network Agency, or Bundesnetzagentur, has banned Genesis Toys' Cayla doll as an illegal surveillance device. "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 agency president Jochen Homann in a statement. "This applies in particular to children's toys. The Cayla doll has been banned in Germany." Calya's deportation and exile comes two months after privacy advocacy groups urged US and EU regulators to deal with the potentially privacy-infringing doll.
The Bluetooth-enabled toy comes with a microphone and is designed to capture children's speech, so it can be analyzed using Nuance's speech recognition software, in conjunction with mobile apps. Privacy and consumer protection groups have complained that the doll has been programmed to advertise to children, lacks security, and provides insufficient privacy guarantees about how captured data and personal information will be used.
References:
Emery, David., (February, 2017). “My Friend Cayla’ Doll Records Children’s Speech, Is Vulnerable to Hackers.” Retrieved March, 2016 from: http://www.snopes.com/2017/02/24/my-friend-cayla-doll-privacy-concerns/
