It was originally used for positioning but became a social artifact, secretly inducing consumption and infringing on children's privacy
There may be a "big bad wolf" hidden in children's smart watches
● Children’s smart watches are becoming more and more social, and the harm outweighs the benefits for children. Children are exposed to too much and too adult-oriented network information, and they are prone to precocious psychology and may be addicted to virtual network socialization
● Children’s personal information collected by children’s smart watches, such as biometric identification and whereabouts, are actually sensitive personal information. The principle of minimum collection should be adhered to when collecting, and the consent of the minor’s parents or other guardians must be obtained. This is an insurmountable rule. red line
● Parents should build the first "firewall", pay more attention to children's physical and mental changes, and improve children's social communication skills.
Enterprises should also "do subtraction" when developing products, and the functional design should conform to the characteristics of children's physical and mental development and meet their actual needs
□ Our reporter Wen Lijuan
"There is a 'big bad wolf' hidden in the smart watch!" This sentence has now become a mantra when Liu Wei, a Beijing citizen, chats with his daughter.
Liu Wei's 8-year-old daughter has been addicted to the "bezel" (smart watch circle of friends) for nearly 3 years.
Usually, he allows his daughter to interact with friends, thinking that it is normal for children to have their own social circle.
It wasn't until this past winter vacation that he accidentally discovered that many strangers had been added to his daughter's smart watch, and some of them who sounded like middle-aged men frequently sent some sexually suggestive language, so he became vigilant.
In recent years, the functions of children's smart watches have been continuously extended. In addition to positioning and answering calls, they can also chat, video call, take photos and send them to Moments, leave comments, etc., and even have built-in puzzle games and payment functions. Tiny smartphone.
A number of parents interviewed by reporters from the "Rule of Law Daily" worried that there would be safety hazards for children to add friends unlimitedly through smart watches. The "positioning watch" that was originally beneficial to children became a "social artifact"; Indulging in it can lead to health problems such as inattention, decreased vision, and lack of sleep; it may also hide the risks of inducing consumption, exposing privacy, and being illegally used.
Should children's smart watches return to the core functions of health and safety?
And how to protect the "safety on the wrist" of minors?
The reporter conducted an investigation and interview.
Smart watches are all the rage
Complicated functions and easy to become addicted
Due to its practical functions and strong fun, in recent years, children's smart watches have become more and more popular among minors from "satisfying parents" to "pleasing children".
According to the "2022-2027 China Children's Smart Watch Industry In-depth Research and Investment Prospect Forecast Research Report" by the China Industry Research Institute, the number of children aged 5 to 12 in China is about 170 million, and the market penetration rate of children's smart watches is about 30%, basically 1 out of 3 children has a smart watch.
Among them, the market penetration rate of smart watches among urban children is at least more than half.
The reporter searched on an e-commerce platform and found that the price of children's smart watches ranges from tens of yuan to thousands of yuan, and the brands include Xiaotiancai, Huawei, Xiaomi, 360 and so on.
On the product details introduction page, the reporter saw that many children's smart watches are pre-installed with various applications such as chat, music, homework, stories, wallets, etc., and support functions such as camera, body monitoring, and payment.
The chat software among them can send voice, pictures, emoticons, or video calls, and also has a function similar to the social circle of friends. Watch friends can like or comment on each other.
Take Xiaotiancai watch as an example. At first, it focused on "two-way communication", and then gradually upgraded and added various functions. The price ranges from 398 yuan to 1999 yuan.
The deluxe version has more functions, and the sales volume on an e-commerce platform has reached 2000+.
Liu Wei introduced that his daughter has used two generations of smart watches from kindergarten to third grade. At first, it was to keep track of the child's location and talk to the child. Now these two functions have been weakened instead, socializing, entertainment, shopping, taking pictures, etc. The functions are becoming more and more prominent, "Like a small smart phone with multiple functions in one, the child seems to be fascinated, holding the watch and playing with it every day. There are several strangers in the watch, and I don't know under what circumstances they were added."
After discovering the problem, Liu Wei immediately deleted all the strangers in his daughter's watch, and quickly set the "adding friends requires parental consent" mode.
Teacher Wang from a primary school in Zhongshan, Guangdong, told reporters that almost everyone in his class has a smart watch. The students especially like chatting, taking pictures, circle of friends and other games, and they can’t concentrate in class. ".
Li Jingsi, a national second-level psychological counselor, analyzed that while smart watches can meet the needs of minors in their convenient lives, they can also meet their psychological needs, such as a sense of security, belonging and accomplishment, making them more and more popular among children. .
"They can always get a sense of belonging that is 'responsive' in the smart watch chat group, and smart product developers have worked hard to design a fishing-style adhesion mechanism that makes children addicted, so that children who do not have sufficient cognitive ability I think that using a smart watch is a cool experience that can stride ahead of the trend, and mistakenly think that smart watches can sometimes replace some real needs in the growth process." Li Jingsi said.
Addicted to virtual social network
Do more harm than good and need to be vigilant
"Touch your watch and add a friend." Today, this sentence has become a greeting for many children when they socialize.
The reporter randomly interviewed more than 10 minors in Beijing, Hunan and other places and found that the social functions in smart watches are the most popular among children.
For example, Linlin, a 7-year-old girl from Beijing, especially likes to make friends with others. "Fun" and "chatting anytime" are her motivations for adding friends.
Not long ago, she added a girl she just met as a friend, and sent short videos or video chats to each other every now and then to share her daily life.
The reason why 12-year-old Hunan boy Kangkang is keen on adding friends is that after posting on Moments, seeing his friends commenting and liking him gives him a sense of accomplishment.
Many parents are worried about this kind of phenomenon: Many adults cannot resist the temptation of mobile phones, and it is difficult to stop once they swipe, let alone children.
There are also parents who often see their children hiding in bed in the middle of the night and chatting with their watches.
"It's even more frightening to be able to add a stranger as a friend with just a touch. You don't know who the other person is, and you don't know what kind of connection the other person will have with your child after you add a friend. What should you do if you encounter a bad person?" A resident of Changsha, Hunan Zhao Lei complained.
Zhao Lei's child is 9 years old this year. She has been using a smart watch for nearly a year. At first, she only used the watch to talk to her honestly, but she learned how to use various applications on the watch in less than a month. When they meet people of the same age, they will gather together and clamor to become friends.
In her opinion, children's smart watches are becoming more and more social, and the harm outweighs the benefits for children. "Through smart watches, children will be exposed to too much and too adult network information, and they are prone to be precocious and may be addicted to virtual network socialization." , reducing the willingness to interact with people in the real world.”
Li Jingsi also pointed out that minors are in a critical period of physical and mental development, and their self-control and self-discipline are weak. Social networking on the Internet can easily give them a sense of gain and satisfaction. Obsessed with smart watches and checking in may increase Internet dependence and even lead to Internet addiction. addiction.
At the same time, some smart selling points of smart watches will also invisibly dilute children's active thinking ability. If you encounter words and phrases you don't know, you can ask a question and the answer will be presented.
Inducing consumption is suspected of infringement
Leaking privacy touches the red line
In addition to worrying about her child's indulging in social networking, Zhao Lei also raised a question: In a certain brand of smart watches she bought for her child, there is software that induces the child to consume, and this software can also deduct money without using the payment password.
The reporter noticed that on a third-party complaint platform, many of the complaints about children's smart watches are related to induced consumption.
The Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Rights Protection Committee also issued a document saying that many parents complained that the parents' terminal bound to the children's smart watch did not enable password-free payment and payment confirmation, while children purchased game services directly from the parent's terminal. chargeback.
In addition, children’s smart watches still have problems such as repeated deduction and multiple deduction of some game software. When using it, children are easily attracted by advertisement push or game content, and even make large recharge consumption.
"Children's watches are used by minors between the ages of 3 and 14. They belong to persons without or with limited capacity for civil conduct. Unauthorized payment is invalid and their effectiveness can be denied by their parents. If it causes economic harm to children or parents If there is a loss, the children and parents can also demand that the faulty merchant bear the liability for compensation." said Du Xiujun, a lawyer from Beijing Zhongwen Law Firm.
He pointed out that the induction of consumption by children's smart watches not only violates the provisions of my country's Advertising Law that "advertisements for goods or services aimed at minors under the age of 14 must not contain content that persuades them to ask their parents to buy the advertised goods or services", but also violates the law of minors. According to the provisions of the Protection Law that "network service providers should set up corresponding time management, authority management, consumption management and other functions for minors to use their services", relevant departments can investigate and deal with it according to law.
"If children's smart watch manufacturers or service providers have not reached any consumption agreements with children and parents, and deduct fees without any prompts or notifications, it is an act of theft, and serious cases can be investigated for criminal responsibility." Du Xiujun said.
Some children's smart watches also have the risk of privacy exposure.
The reporter noticed that some children's smart watches with relatively old versions and configurations do not have corresponding privacy settings. Installing the App can enable multiple permissions without user authorization, and remotely obtain private information such as minors' face images, locations, and conversations. .
"If someone with malicious intentions invades the watch, then this worry-free product will become a 'tracker'. How can we ensure the safety of children?" Zhao Lei said worriedly.
According to the children's smart watch consumption survey report released by the Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Rights Protection Committee, 17.11% of consumers said they had encountered children's smart watches leaking personal information, and 32.89% of consumers expressed their hope that measures could be taken against children's smart watches. Further improve the information security of the watch.
Previously, the "3.15 Information Security Laboratory" tested a children's smart watch with a sales volume of "100,000+" on the e-commerce platform. Malicious programs can be easily implanted without the knowledge of children and parents, and obtain private information such as children's locations, face images, and audio recordings.
"The non-compliance of children's smart watches in collecting information needs to be paid attention to urgently." Zhang Xiaobing, head of the Children's Research Institute of the China Youth Research Center, said that children's personal information such as biometrics and whereabouts collected by children's smart watches are actually all children's personal information. When collecting sensitive personal information, the principle of minimum collection should be adhered to, and the consent of the minor's parents or other guardians must be obtained, and this red line must not be crossed.
Zhang Xiaobing also reminded that minors have a weak ability to identify network risks, and it is easy to leak personal information such as photos, videos, real-time positioning, personal information, and parental information when using smart watches, resulting in privacy leakage.
On this basis, it may be used by some unscrupulous elements, who pretend to be children's peers through watches, induce them to consume or download bad software, and may even lure children into crimes.
Promote mandatory national standards
Design filing function review
Under the background that children's smart watches are gradually becoming "standard" electronic products for children, the existing problems need to be paid attention to urgently.
Several interviewed experts suggested that education departments, schools, families, and society should form a joint force to weave a tight safety net.
Strengthen industry review and supervision, and standardize health guidelines.
Consider including children's access to social media within the scope of supervision, and issue guidelines on the design and promotion of children's smart products, so that companies can follow the law when developing related products.
It is worth noting that in November 2022, the national standard GB/T41411-2022 "Children's Watches" will be officially implemented.
The interviewed experts believe that the implementation of national standards will help further protect children's personal information.
This standard is currently a recommended national standard. According to the implementation situation, if necessary, it can be upgraded to a mandatory national standard. Manufacturers are required to strictly abide by relevant standards in the design, production and sales of children's smart watches, and start from the source. contain.
Li Jingsi proposed that the design of children's electronic products should match the growth stage of minors, with the aim of promoting the healthy development of children.
In view of the weak self-control of minors, manufacturers should be more refined in the settings on the parent side, and set different rules of use according to the different characteristics of minors.
Zhang Xiaobing put forward opinions from the level of industry supervision. She believes that self-discipline of the children's smart watch industry should be promoted, industry review and supervision should be strengthened, safety standards for the children's smart watch industry should be formulated, model specifications for children's smart watches should be issued, and the industry should be encouraged to regularly publish relevant investigation reports and disclose industry development. trends and issues related to the status of protection of minors.
"The government should also strengthen supervision, and strictly hold accountable companies or platforms that violate relevant laws and regulations, so that the whole society can truly form a social atmosphere and social concept of caring for and respecting children. Efforts should be made to promote the introduction of the "Regulations on the Internet Protection of Minors" , Incorporate children’s exposure to social media into the protection scope of the regulations, and strengthen the design filing and functional review of children’s smart watches.” Zhang Xiaobing said.
Du Xiujun suggested that, on the one hand, children's smart product hazards and mental health education classes should be held regularly, and students and parents should hold online literacy lectures, so that students can enhance their ability to resist bad information; on the other hand, parents and schools should correctly guide children through Enrich hobbies, improve social skills, increase fun activities, etc., establish healthy and interactive relationships, and encourage children to "socialize" offline.
Chen Chen, a Beijing parent, feels the same way.
He believes that parents should build the first "firewall", pay more attention to children's physical and mental changes, and improve children's social communication skills.
Enterprises should also "do subtraction" when developing products. The functional design should conform to the characteristics of children's physical and mental development, return to the core functions of health and safety, and meet the actual needs of children. threaten.
(Liu Wei, Zhao Lei, and Chen Chen are all pseudonyms in the text)
Comics/Li Xiaojun