From the if-you-have-nothing-to-hide-from-your-toys dept.
Aileen Graef reports:
Privacy advocates are concerned about the latest doll from Mattel called Hello Barbie which records conversations of children.
The $74.99 doll was introduced at the New York toy fair with the newest tech-enhanced blonde asking, “I love New York! Don’t you? Tell me, what’s your favorite part about the city? The food, fashion or the sights?”
Hello Barbie has a microphone in her belt and voice-recognition software which will enable the doll to “listen” to children’s responses. Over time, the doll will learn to respond and remember such things like the dog’s name and the child’s favorite topics.
Children’s responses to the doll’s questions are carried over WiFi to a cloud-based server where they can be kept for up to two years.
Read more on UPI.
Over on PC Magazine, Stephanie Milot has more on the story and a petition to Mattel to stop production of the toy.