Can children’s smart watches be safe and smart? Complaints about inducing consumption and sidelining content

Release time:Apr 25, 2024 08:45 AM

It can real-time positioning, video calls, social interaction... Children's smart watches with multiple functions have become the "hard currency" for children to socialize. However, as the children's smart watch market expands, there are more and more product brands and functions, and related chaos and parents' concerns also arise. Some parents complained that their children had recharged more than 1,000 yuan for games in the learning app built into the watch. Some parents also found that their children's watches had received borderline content and complained that the review mechanism of the watches was not strict.

As children's smart watches become more and more mobile-based, can relevant standards and management keep up?

Most children's watches are bound to parents' mobile phone accounts. Although some payment software can set daily limits, it is not uncommon for consumption to occur without parents' knowledge. Many parents complained on the Black Cat platform that their children clearly did not enable password-free payment on the children's smart watch and did not know the payment password, but they found the deduction information from the parents' mobile phones.

"The child downloaded the Dream Manor software on the MiTu children's phone watch, and was deducted 199 yuan. The product name is a Chinese and mathematics course annual membership, but it is actually a game." Ms. Zhang complained that she did not know about the deduction. See It was strange when I received the bill, so I asked customer service for a refund. Previously, the Little Genius Phone Watch has been removed from the shelves for similar reasons, including game apps such as Gakuen Gakuen, Dream Manor, and Doudoulong Synchrony. However, there are still other brands of watches on the market with similar apps installed.

There are also some games for children's smart phone watches that are designed to be relatively hidden and will not be displayed on the homepage, but in the lower-level menu of the App. Some games can only be found by children who are familiar with watch operation. A ten-year-old child showed her method of playing games: find the game link forwarded by friends from the circle of friends, click to enter, and you can find the game that has been removed from the shelves. She also follows many "cracking bloggers" whose homepages include tutorials on entering characters to crack children's watch games. There are also many children who compare the personal points in the watch and conduct transactions such as buying and selling points.

Some third-party apps in phone watches may also experience "duplicate deductions". Ms. Liu reported that the audiobook app in phone watches cannot share VIP accounts with mobile phones. After asking customer service, she learned that mobile phones can only be used with tablets. Interoperable accounts, watches, dictionary pens and learning machines require additional recharge. Ms. Liu does not agree with this: "Obviously the playback records are interoperable and can be viewed on any device. Why are there extra charges across devices?"

Ms. Xiong from Shanghai also questioned whether the built-in software of children's watches may induce consumption, such as dial background settings. She mentioned that she once held her child's hand while walking to the park, and it turned out that her mobile phone received a message from her child. When she opened it, it was a message pushed by the system to purchase a watch face. "Later, I posted a 'love you' and crying emoticon in the family group chat. I thought it was from the child, but the child said it wasn't him. Using the child's username to push the message would make me mistakenly think it was from the child. "Ms. Xiong expressed her incomprehension.

Ms. Xiong received messages sent using her child’s account.

Reporters saw booths with children's smart watches in many shopping malls in Shanghai. The salesperson said that the price range of children's watches ranges from a hundred yuan to several thousand yuan. The positioning is relatively smart. It can not only locate and make calls, but also download various third-party applications just like a mobile phone. However, because the machine displayed in the mall does not have a SIM card installed, some applications cannot be displayed. After installing the card, you can connect to the mobile phone to download.

On the market, especially on online shopping platforms, there are still many phone watches from unknown brands priced at only tens of yuan, and the sales volume are also considerable. Most of these watches can set the child's age. The older the child, the more applications are available for selection, but is the content in the watch really "age-appropriate"? Many parents are worried about this.

Some watches are older and have imperfect filtering and privacy systems, so content that is not suitable for children may indeed appear during use. Ms. Li once discovered that the smart conversation function of her child's watch software can play adult online novels. She was surprised and a little angry. She believed that as a children's product, the watch needs to have age-appropriate content and should do relevant review and filtering. In the end, she called 12345 to complain about the problem and chose to return the product.

Parents discovered that children’s watches can play online content.

Mr. You also encountered a similar situation. He accidentally sent indecent images to a children's watch through the micro chat function of the mobile client App. While reflecting on his own behavior, Mr. You also felt puzzled: "Why do watches aimed at children not control the size of the content sent?"

Mr. You submitted corresponding complaints to the Market Supervision Bureau and the Citizen Hotline. Although he no longer lets his children use smart watches, he still hopes that children’s smart watches can be more rigorous in content review and have a unified, safe and legal system. "Otherwise, it will be easy for criminals to use it to send inappropriate picture messages to children."

A safe environment should be created for minors

According to the "In-depth Research and Investment Prospects Forecast Research Report on China's Children's Smart Watch Industry 2022-2027" by the China Industrial Research Institute, the number of children aged 5 to 12 in China is currently about 170 million, and the market penetration rate of smart children's watches is about 30 %, basically 1 out of every 3 children has a phone watch.

However, the Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Protection Commission once issued a "Children's Smart Watch Consumption Survey Report" which pointed out that: the quality of children's smart watches in the consumption field is uneven, some products are suspected of false advertising, and after-sales maintenance is difficult; information security risks; some products have illegal deductions. Inducing underage children to consume; platform supervision is not in place, and some built-in games are bloody and violent, and comics are not suitable for children. Faced with such a large user scale, the responsibilities of platforms and manufacturers are becoming increasingly heavy.

At present, the "Guidelines for the Protection of Personal Information and Rights and Interests of Children's Smart Watches" has been officially implemented on March 11, 2024. For children's smart watch manufacturers, it is hoped that it can promote the notification of consent and rights protection, guardian control, and network information content security. The industry adheres to unified standards and models.

The cybersecurity and informatization department and other relevant departments are also strengthening supervision and inspection of the network protection of educational smart devices. On March 15, the Cyberspace Administration of China deployed the 2024 "Qingming" operation. In terms of online protection for minors, it proposed to strictly control the security of information content on children's smart devices, prevent minors from becoming addicted to the Internet, and target platforms, institutions and organizations with outstanding problems. Accounts will be dealt with strictly.

In addition, parents should also read the usage rules and related applications in detail when purchasing products, and close unnecessary applications. Before buying a children's smart watch, you can also do some "buying homework" and carefully identify whether the product has electronic product 3C logo, network access permit, model approval and other qualifications, and purchase products from companies with intellectual property rights and independent R&D teams through official and formal channels.

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