The "smart toy" market is now a more than $16 billion industry, and is expected to double by 2027, and this holiday season, experts are warning parents to check the check the safety and privacy features of toys children receive.
Teresa Murray, consumer watchdog for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund, said stuffed animals, baby dolls, racetracks and even board games may have features allowing them to record conversations and collect personal information and location data.
"They have microphones or cameras, or they connect to an app or they're Wi-Fi enabled or Bluetooth," Murray explained. "They have geolocators, which is a whole thing. So parents really need to ask a lot of questions when it comes to the smart toys."
This year, the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice charged Amazon with violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act rule by deceiving parents and users of the Alexa voice-assistant service about its data-deletion practices. The company allegedly kept voice recordings of children and gathered geolocation data and used children's transcripts.
Congress passed tougher toy-safety regulations in 2008, triggering a spike in recalled toys suddenly no longer meeting safety standards.
Murray noted while the number of unsafe toys has gradually decreased, parents should regularly inspect their children's toys.
"Especially if you're talking about a younger child," Murray urged. "Inspect that toy, make sure that no none of the parts have come loose, nothing could come off that could endanger them or be a choking hazard."
While toy-related deaths and injuries treated in emergency rooms among children 14 and younger have declined, nationwide hospitals and doctor's offices still see more than 150,000 toy-related injuries a year.
