They see you: FBI warns about dangers of internet-connected toys

‘While many American parents think ‘smart toys’ are a great idea, the FBI has issued an unprecedented warning that internet-enabled items may pose a privacy and safety risk for children by harvesting personal information.
Smart toys and entertainment devices for children typically contain sensors, microphones, cameras, data storage chips and multimedia capabilities such as speech recognition or global positioning (GPS).
“These features could put the privacy and safety of children at risk due to the large amount of personal information that may be unwittingly disclosed,” the FBI said in a warning issued Monday.
Smart toys typically require user accounts, which involve disclosure of personal information. Companies that make such toys and apps that come with them also collect large amounts of data such as voice messages, conversation recordings, physical locations of the toy and internet use history ‒ all of which could create opportunities for child identity fraud if they fall into the wrong hands, the bureau warned.’
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