'Smart' Toys Raises Major Questions About Privacy, Security Data Risks, Says Nelson

The growth of connected "smart" toys raises major privacy and security risks to data, including personally identifiable information, collected from children and parents, said Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla., in a minority staff report Wednesday. Nelson sent letters to toymakers, including Fisher-Price, KGPS and VTech, following security incidents (see 1512010041). He also sent letters to Fuhu, KD Group and LeapFrog regarding their data collection, use, sharing and security practices, and the responses from the six companies formed the basis of the report, it said. The report found that "some toymakers failed to secure collected consumer data" and these incidents raise "troubling questions" about security as a priority. “It’s frightening to think that our children’s toys can be used against them in this way,” said Nelson in a news release. The report noted that toymakers need to build security into their toys from the start, parents should understand the data privacy and security risks with smart toys and the FTC needs to carefully monitor this evolving space. The Future of Privacy Forum and Family Online Safety Institute recently released a paper on smart toys and privacy practices, while consumer and privacy groups filed an FTC complaint against one toymaker and partner (see 1612060021 and 1612070029).