The German government are not only banning some children’s smartwatches — its telling people to “destroy” the gadgets which are already circulating around the country.
On Friday, Germany’s telecom regulator the Federal Network Agency announced that a number of these devices, which have been designed for ages 5 to 12, can allow someone to remotely tap into the watch’s microphone and clandestinely spy from remote locations (just like a wiretap).
The regulator isn’t only concerned about the potential of people spying on children — it’s concerned that the devices can be used to spy on anyone.
In Germany, it’s illegal to record private conversations without permission.
“According to our investigations, parents were using the watches, for example, to listen in on teachers during class,” said Federal Network Agency President Jochen Homann in a statement.
Smartwatches which make phone calls, like the Apple Watch, are legal in Germany. The problem with many of these children’s smartwatches, however, is that the devices have a classic snooping function, similar to a baby monitor, which can be easily activated just by using an app.
“Via an app, parents can use such children’s watches to listen unnoticed to the child’s environment and they are to be regarded as an unauthorized transmitting system,” said Homann.
The German regulator is very serious about destroying these devices, it’s asking citizens to literally document the watches’ destruction and to file the evidence online. Once the watches are destroyed, the regulator will provide a “certificate of destruction,” which w confirm the deed was done.
This is not the first time that the Federal Network Agency told German citizens to destroy a consumer device.
Back in February, the regulator prohibited the doll “My Friend Cayla” and labeled it as an “espionage device.” The dolls were apparently fitted with radio transmission technology that could allow children to be spied on.
Consumer tech manufacturers best beware that the German government won’t just ban devices that facilitate spying, they’ll demand the devices be smashed with hammer (or whatever means of destruction one prefers) — even if they are little dolls.
Couple Too High On Meth To Take Baby Suffering From Severe Burns To Hospital
The parents of a baby who was reportedly burned over 40-percent of her body have been sentenced to prison, after they failed to seek medical care for the baby.
“(The girl) stated the infant was in the sink under the running water, and she said she turned off what she thought was the hot water. However, she accidentally turned off the cold water and the infant was accidentally burned,” Ada Police Detective Brian Engel stated in an affidavit.
According to KXII, police said that the water hit 145-degrees.
The teenage girl told her mother, who then called the infant’s parents, 25-year-old Patrick Edward Eddy and 26-year-old Candace Mercedes Matthews.
Eddy and Matthews later picked up the child and took her home.
The following day, the family friend went to check on the baby, an affidavit states. The woman walked into the home and found the baby crying.
“(The woman) stated on arrival she observed the infant to be in a bed crying, and she stated the infant’s diaper was full of urine and feces,” Engel said in the affidavit. “
(The woman) stated (Eddy and Matthews) were asleep in a bed next to the infant. (The woman) stated she then observed the burn on the infant’s stomach, and she stated the injury looked ‘awful’. (The woman) stated she woke up (Matthews) and asked her if she wanted her to take the infant to the hospital.”
The woman later took the infant to a hospital, where she was then flown to an Oklahoma City hospital to be treated for her severe burns.
Sadly, the infant suffered first- and second-degree burns over 40-percent of her body.
“If we hadn’t got her help, she could’ve laid there and died,” LaCretia McDow said.
According to the affidavit, the parents, Eddy and Matthews, admitted that they did not take the child to the hospital because they were high on methamphetamine and were unaware of the extent of the baby’s injuries.
The affidavit also mentions the parents had no idea their child had been flown to an Oklahoma City hospital for treatment and were sleeping when officers arrived to question them about the infant’s burns.
The infant was later sent to a burn center in Arkansas to recover.
Officials said that the baby survived her injuries. She remains in state custody.
Eddy and Matthews have arrested for child neglect.
This week, the couple took a plea deal and have sentenced to 10 years in prison
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