Mattel scraps its digital baby monitor
Mattel has announced that it will not move forward with plans to sell a kidfocused smart hub, after new executives decided it did not “fully align with Mattel’s new technology strategy,” according to a company statement.
Children’s health and privacy advocates had petitioned the toy giant not to release the device, which they argued gave the firm an unprecedented look into the lives of children.
Chief technology officer Sven Gerjets reviewed the product and decided “not to bring Aristotle to the marketplace as part of an ongoing effort to deliver the best possible connected product experience to the consumer,” Mattel said.
Aristotle was designed for a child’s room. It could switch on a night light to soothe a crying baby. It was also designed to keep changing its activities, even to the point where it could help a preteen with homework. And the device would learn about the child along the way.
The existence of a home hub for kids raised questions about data privacy for a vulnerable population. It also triggered broader concerns about how quickly companies are marketing products to parents without understanding how technology could affect early childhood development.
The product drew attention from Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., and Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, who sent Mattel a letter last week asking the toymaker for more information on how it will store and retain data it collects on children. Mattel has said it will protect the Aristotle data with high-level encryption and will not sell that information to advertisers, in compliance with children’s data privacy laws.
But privacy concerns weren’t the only issue. “My main concerns about this technology — apart from the privacy concerns that (Markey and Barton) are trying to address — is the idea that a piece of technology becomes the most responsive household member to a crying child, a child who wants to learn, or a child’s play ideas,” said pediatrician Jennifer Radesky, who wrote the American Association of Pediatrics’ 2016 media guidelines for children 0-6 years of age.