Piracy, espionage ... Should we also ban watches connected to school?

They have a SIM card, a microphone, a GPS, and incidentally, they also give the time.are popular with some parents.

Fixed on the children's wrist, these “portable mini-telephones” are very discreet.They allow parents to know permanently where their toddler is, and to be able to contact him at any time.But these hypersophisticated objects are not devoid of any danger, recall several consumer associations in this back -to -school period.

"A real alternative to the laptop"

"It is important to be able to keep in touch with my son all the time.For me, it's a real alternative to the laptop.With a connected watch, I can geolocate it, and if it is not in the determined sector, we are immediately alerted, "said Sylvie 20 minutes, whose 11 -year -old son is educated in the 10th arrondissement in Paris."If he does not answer or he is slow to go back, he knows very well that we are going to look where he is," explains this mother who assures that many parents are ready to pay 100 to 200 euros forA connected watch."It secures us, and it also secures our children.»»

The connected watch therefore seems to be the ideal solution for parents who wish to keep an eye on their offspring.But for the European Bureau of Consumer Unions (BEUC), which brings together around forty consumer associations in Europe, "it's a very bad idea", which can be "dangerous".

"In a few gestures, a stranger can take control of it"

With a microphone and GPS, connected watches can indeed be hacked by malicious individuals in order to get in touch with children.“In a few gestures, a stranger can take control of the watch.He can follow the child, he can listen to him, he can even communicate with him, "said 20 minutes Johannes Kleis, spokesperson for the BEUC who campaigns to use these objects is strictly framed."The individual can get in touch and manipulate the child.It is therefore a tool that can really endanger it.Parents have a feeling of security, but in reality it is the opposite, "added the spokesperson for the BEUC, who carried out many security tests last year.

The European Consumer Unions Bureau today calls on Europe to set safety standards in this area."Decisions must be made by the European institutions, and there is an emergency," explains Johannes Kleis.

No legislation in France

In France, there is no legislation, "connected children's watches are not prohibited," said the National Commission for Data Protection (CNIL), which calls for vigilance."The use of a connected watch generates a large amount of data (profile information, environmental data, location, etc.).Some manufacturers may not always have a real culture of "computer security", "explains the CNIL."The most important risk is the malicious reuse of stolen personal information and targeted actions on the part of ill -intentioned persons (phishing, harassment)".

Germany, for its part, chosely chosen to ban sales of connected children's watches.The German Telecom regulatory agency has indeed prohibited the sale of connected watches last year for 8-12 year olds, explaining that some parents used it "to monitor the environment of their child, and to spy on theteachers in classrooms ”.