Washington: First it was floating balloons that China unleashed for alleged spying and now it is toys. There is growing concern in the US that China could be using spy dolls with smart device capabilities to snoop on Americans — something that may happen in India, too, where importers get a lot of toys from its neighbouring country. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have raised concern and the House Select Committee looking into the moves of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to initiate action on electronic toys made in China.
The committee has warned that Chinese officials may be listening in and gathering sensitive data without people’s knowledge. Talking toys from China are a hit among children in the US, especially the “My Friend Cayla” toy. What has raised concern is the toy’s capability to connect to the internet, raising doubts about spying.
The committee has called the toy a “spy doll”. “CCP-aligned companies Quectel and Fibocom control and could access 45% of the world’s cellular internet modules that connect dolls and other devices like cars, medical equipment and critical infrastructure to the internet,” the committee said on social media platform X. The dolls, produced by Genesis Toys in China, could be acting as an “illegal eavesdropping device”.
Germany has already banned the purchase, sale and ownership of the doll and instructed parents who bought the doll for their children to destroy it. The doll’s maker uses a large database to store recorded conversations, which has sparked concerns about hacking on behalf of the CCP. Potential spying could be facilitated through these toys without parents knowing, said public interest research group “Don’t Sell My Data” campaign director RJ Cross.
“As soon as you give any device an internet connection, the risks get a lot higher. Lots of companies can gather data about us in the background, including sensitive details like our location, where we work and where we live, and how we spend our money,” Cross was quoted in the media as saying.
“We definitely need to address this problem with legislation. We need strong legislation that’s going to rein in the kinds of data that companies come to collect on us and what they can do with that data,” Cross said. Smart toys are a booming industry with the global market expected to reach more than $24 billion by 2025. China is the market leader in this segment and manufactures 80% of the smart toys across the world. The Cayla doll and other toys with internet connectivity are not the only internet-enabled device raising concerns for US lawmakers. A few lawmakers have urged the House Select Committee to look into whether Chinese companies are spying on Americans through “cellular connectivity modules” such as children’s toys, cars or medical devices.
