Children’s Privacy: Public Interest Education Group survey flags Smart Toys as category of concern for kids’ privacy
The market for smart (also called “connected”) toys is projected to exceed $24B by 2025. It is one of the most prominent categories of IoT and an area of great concern for children’s privacy. It can also be a risk for the family overall. This year’s annual “Trouble in Toyland” report cautioned parents that “in addition to recording children themselves, some (AI-enabled) toys have the ability to record information about your home and family”. Examples include an augmented reality toy that can capture images from around the room where the game is played and a Bluetooth karaoke machine that could be co-opted by bad actors to play explicit songs or allow communication from an outside source talking to a child at home.