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charon writes:

The "My Friend Cayla" doll uses voice recognition to hear what a child says [bbc.com] and connects to the internet to find suitable responses. The potential for surveillance worries EPIC enough for them to file a formal complaint [epic.org] to the US Federal Trade commission.

The makers of the i-Que and Cayla smart toys have been accused of subjecting children to "ongoing surveillance" and posing an "imminent and immediate threat" to their safety and security.

The accusations come via a formal complaint in the US by consumer groups.

They, along with several EU bodies, are calling for investigations into the manufacturers.

And if that's not good enough, it can also be hacked to say anything [mirror.co.uk], including the naughty words which are supposed to be blocked.

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