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Germany banned smartwatches for children last year: https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/11/19/16671428/germany-bans-smartwatches-kids-parents-destructi

Germany banned smartwatches for children last year: https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/11/19/16671428/germany-bans-smartwatches-kids-parents-destruction https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/11/19/16671428/...

kachurovskiy 8y ago
I think only those smartwatches are banned that allow concealed listening or viewing the camera feed without the kid noticing.
- joe_the_user 8y ago
  No, the article specifically states "Germany’s telecommunication agency, the Bundesnetzagentur, has banned smartwatches for kids, and is asking parents to destroy them." It used the fact that these are listening devices, yes, but the ban as stated sounds quite absolute.
  - c3534l 8y ago
    And other articles state that it is only smartwatches with a listening device. This is why you don't trust a single article from a sensationalist website and rely on exact phrasing within it.
  - RagingCactus 8y ago
    The Bundesnetzagentur does not have the capacity to ban random devices for children. They banned these devices because they are essentially bugs/covert listening devices and are even marketed as such. Devices that look innocious (such as children's watches or teddy bears) but in reality are covert listening devices are banned in Germany by §90 TKG. [1] This is why the Bundesnetzagentur banned the smartwatches in question. They even cited cases in which these watches were used to monitor teachers in classrooms. [2] "Normal" smartwatches are NOT banned. "Normal" smartwatches for children are also NOT banned. Only watches with monitoring functions fall under the §90 TKG law. [3] Note that using an app to bring covert listening functionality to a phone or watch also converts that device into an illegal listening device. [1] https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/tkg_2004/__90.html https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/tkg_2004/__90.html (Just for reference) [2] https://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/DE/2017/17112017_Verbraucherschutz.html https://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilung... (German, but google translate works sufficiently well) [3] https://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/DE/Sachgebiete/Telekommunikation/Unternehmen_Institutionen/Anbieterpflichten/Datenschutz/MissbrauchSendeanlagen/HinweiseProduktkategorien/hinweiseproduktkategorien.html?nn=690686 https://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/DE/Sachgebiete/Telekommunik... (German, use a translator)
    - Gaelan 8y ago
      Amusingly, in your second link, Google refers to watches as “watches,” “clocks,” and “watchmen.”
oh_sigh 8y ago
It banned smartwatches that were specifically designed for children - they did not ban children wearing generic smart watches.
- detaro 8y ago
  It banned smartwatches that have remote cover listening features. Smartwatches for kids that don't have them are fine.
stef25 8y ago
Christ, I'm happy I don't live in a country where the govt decides what kind of watch my child can wear.
- peteretep 8y ago
  This is a viewpoint that reduces to the absurd very quickly.
detaro 8y ago
It went after some specific smartwatches for kids that had illegal features (specifically, covert remote listening) and reminded people that these features are illegal.

kachurovskiy 8y ago

I think only those smartwatches are banned that allow concealed listening or viewing the camera feed without the kid noticing.

joe_the_user 8y ago
No, the article specifically states "Germany’s telecommunication agency, the Bundesnetzagentur, has banned smartwatches for kids, and is asking parents to destroy them." It used the fact that these are listening devices, yes, but the ban as stated sounds quite absolute.
- c3534l 8y ago
  And other articles state that it is only smartwatches with a listening device. This is why you don't trust a single article from a sensationalist website and rely on exact phrasing within it.
- RagingCactus 8y ago
  The Bundesnetzagentur does not have the capacity to ban random devices for children. They banned these devices because they are essentially bugs/covert listening devices and are even marketed as such. Devices that look innocious (such as children's watches or teddy bears) but in reality are covert listening devices are banned in Germany by §90 TKG. [1] This is why the Bundesnetzagentur banned the smartwatches in question. They even cited cases in which these watches were used to monitor teachers in classrooms. [2] "Normal" smartwatches are NOT banned. "Normal" smartwatches for children are also NOT banned. Only watches with monitoring functions fall under the §90 TKG law. [3] Note that using an app to bring covert listening functionality to a phone or watch also converts that device into an illegal listening device. [1] https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/tkg_2004/__90.html https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/tkg_2004/__90.html (Just for reference) [2] https://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/DE/2017/17112017_Verbraucherschutz.html https://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilung... (German, but google translate works sufficiently well) [3] https://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/DE/Sachgebiete/Telekommunikation/Unternehmen_Institutionen/Anbieterpflichten/Datenschutz/MissbrauchSendeanlagen/HinweiseProduktkategorien/hinweiseproduktkategorien.html?nn=690686 https://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/DE/Sachgebiete/Telekommunik... (German, use a translator)
  - Gaelan 8y ago
    Amusingly, in your second link, Google refers to watches as “watches,” “clocks,” and “watchmen.”

oh_sigh 8y ago

It banned smartwatches that were specifically designed for children - they did not ban children wearing generic smart watches.

detaro 8y ago
It banned smartwatches that have remote cover listening features. Smartwatches for kids that don't have them are fine.

stef25 8y ago

Christ, I'm happy I don't live in a country where the govt decides what kind of watch my child can wear.

peteretep 8y ago
This is a viewpoint that reduces to the absurd very quickly.

detaro 8y ago

It went after some specific smartwatches for kids that had illegal features (specifically, covert remote listening) and reminded people that these features are illegal.