German regulator bans children’s smartwatches with ‘eavesdropping function’

The German Bundesnetzagentur, the regulator for telecom and post, among other things, has banned the sale of smartwatches for children between the ages of 5 and 12. It only concerns those models that allow others to listen in from a distance.

According to the director of the supervisor, Jochen Homann, parents of children with such a smartwatch can secretly listen in on what is happening in the child’s environment, without anyone noticing. That would have happened, for example, by parents who were eavesdropping on teachers via the smartwatch.

Homann considers these types of smartwatches to be unauthorized transmitting devices. The smartwatches have a SIM card and a limited telephone function that can be operated via an app. The app user can have the smartwatch call a specific number, without the child or a bystander noticing.

This allows the child’s conversations and sounds in the immediate vicinity to be listened to. Such a listen-in function is prohibited in Germany. The supervisor advises schools to pay even more attention to children if they have a smartwatch with the listen-in function. Owners of the smartwatches are instructed by the regulator to destroy the watches and send proof thereof.