Sales of smartwatches for kids have been banned in Germany. Not only has Bundesnetzagentur banned Smartwatches for kids, but the telecommunication agency is also asking parents to destroy the ones some children already have. Teachers have also been advised to monitor children who wear them to school because the device has a listening feature which allows eavesdropping. The smartwatches were designed for school children from the age of five up to 12 years old. A report by Fortune provided details on the ban and devices themselves.

Listening devices

The ban has come about because the smartwatches have been determined to be devices designed to spy on unsuspecting children and their families. They might be used as listening devices to find out what the children and their parents are doing when the watch is being worn. The device has listening capabilities to track the children who are wearing it. The watch can be hacked and provide information about the child's location. The eavesdropping is an invasion of privacy and could have dangerous consequences for the child. Some parents have even used the watches to eavesdrop on their kids' teachers in the classroom.

More security

The watches were tested, and they did show security issues.

If Germany continues with the ban and other countries follow Germany's example, the manufacturers will be forced to discontinue the product or design the watches with more security so privacy will not be compromised.

The Federal Network Agency said some action has been taken to ban the sales of some online sellers. Jochen Homann, president of the agency said in a statement that the item can be an unauthorized transmitting system.

Last Friday (Nov. 17), the agency warned that some German manufacturers are selling smartwatches for children with a listening function, much like a baby monitor, in the app, that allows others to listen to conversations of those who wear the watch as well as to hear what others in the vicinity are saying.

It is ironic that parents wanted their kids to wear smartwatches so they could keep tabs on them.

However, the goal for something good is turning out not to be such a good idea after all. Germany's main reason for banning the device is that the item goes against the country’s surveillance laws.

The kids' watches include a SIM card that allows people to listen in on conversations, which is illegal in Germany. The country has the same concerns about the watches that it had about a talking doll that was banned last February.