BERLIN: Germany banned children’s internet connected doll ‘My Friend Cayla’ that is capable of listening to children’s conversation and responding in real time and declared it a concealed surveillance device.
The German Federal Network Agency (FNA) which enforced ban on the surveillance devices urged the parents to disable the interactive toy. FNA head Jochen Homann said, “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.”
He further said, “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.
