ladkin@causalis.com
Date: Wed, 22 Feb 2017 07:12:13 +0100
> "An official watchdog in Germany has told parents to destroy a talking
> doll called Cayla because its smart technology can reveal personal data.
> The warning was issued by the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur),
> which oversees telecommunications."
This misrepresents the situation. For example, someone reading this description could imagine that this has something to do with product safety, a European regulation governing risk associated with consumer products which has been taken into German law, namely EC765/2008 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2008:218:0030:0047:en:PDF
It's not a "warning". It is a determination by the telecommunications regulator that it is illegal for people to use these devices. Third parties wondering whether there is really a risk or not is beside the point. At the same time, the regulator has made clear it is not going to go around prosecuting all and sundry for unwitting use.
A more accurate rendering of the situation is as follows.
The telecommunications regulator has ordered the withdrawal of certain communication devices from the market after determining that they are illegal under Section 90 of the German Telecommunications Act, which prohibits communications devices with a certain specified functionality which conceal their communications capabilities as something else.
The prohibited functionality is defined in Section 90, which is about half a page long. Those who can read German can read it here: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bundesrecht/tkg_2004/gesamt.pdf The point of the Section is to prohibit covert surveillance devices and their use. The regulator has determined that the Cayla toy is, given its functionality, such a prohibited device.
The press release suggests that this is part of an ongoing regulatory action. Here is an English version: https://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/EN/2017/17022017_cayla.html