A supervisory authority in Germany has banned the sale of smart watches, which are used by children, as a tool for espionage.
Earlier, the Federal Network Agency banned the sale of an Internet-connected dummy for similar reasons.
The agency, which regulates telecommunications in Germany, urged parents whose children use these watches to destroy them.
An expert predicted that this decision would lead to drastic changes in the Internet-related device market.
Ken Monroe, a security expert at Penn Test Partners, said, "Smart devices that lack security may allow intrusion into privacy. This is a worrying thing when you think about watches equipped with a navigation system to ensure the safety of children, which can turn into espionage." on them".
"There is a shocking lack of laws regulating the circulation of Internet-related devices, which allows unregulated device makers to sell us smart but insecure devices," he added.
The expert believes that invoking privacy laws in order to ban such unsafe devices will fundamentally change the market and stop companies that play with children's security and privacy.
The German regulator announced in a statement that it had taken effective action against companies already offering such watches on the Internet.
The head of the Federal Supervisory Authority, Jochen Homann, said that parents can, through some applications, eavesdrop on the surroundings in which their children are located, and even listen to their teachers.
The supervisory authority asked schools to pay attention to these watches on students' wrists.
These watches, which are sold in large quantities in Germany, target children from 5 to 12 years old.
Most of these watches are equipped with a mobile chip and limited communication capabilities, and they can be programmed and controlled through an application.
In Norway, a report by the Consumer Council stated that some smart watches used by children store and transmit information without encryption, which makes them vulnerable to hacking.
It was not clear whether the German ban was based mainly on privacy violations or security problems.
