German telecoms agency bans smartwatches amid surveillance concerns
By Robin-Leigh Chetty 20 November 2017 | Categories: newsA mega-fad a couple of years ago, almost every consumer tech manufacturer revealed their own revolutionary take on smartwatches. With initial fervour lost for the wearable devices, it appears that some are also concerned about their security.
To that end German telecoms agency, Bundesnetzagentur, has banned smartwatches for children in the European country, calling for parents to destroy them as well.
According to Gizmodo, the regulators have cited the wearables as being potentially harmful to kids, due to their status as, "prohibitive listening devices." Along with advising parents to discard the products, they're also recommending that schools closely monitor children that wear smartwatches.
As The Verge points out, Bundesnetzagentur is only targeting the listening capabilities of the devices, but has not mentioned anything about their GPS tracking functionality, which could be hacked to covertly monitor wearers, as well as be fooled into displaying the incorrect location.
If the German regulator clamps down on the devices, and other countries follow suit, it will certainly force smartwatch makers to reassess the security of their products, which may not be a bad thing in the long run.
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