Elf Cam to "Spy" on Children

Parents have long warned their children that Father Christmas knows whether they have been naughty or nice. And now the threat has been given a high-tech – and some say sinister – update, with what appears to be a home surveillance camera installed by an army of elves keeping a watchful eye from the North Pole. Or at least that’s the notion behind the Elf Surveillance Dummy Security Camera, a fake but all-too-convincing gadget that mimics the type of devices found on public transport and in buildings.

The $25 toy, which is marketed as the smart way to keep kids in check, even has a flashing red light to warn misbehaving children that elves are watching their every move. ‘Official Elf Reports’ also record children’s activities and categorise them as ‘naughty or nice’. The manufacturer describes the camera as a bit of ‘light-hearted fun’, but privacy campaigners last night raised their concerns. Renate Samson, of pressure group Big Brother Watch, accused the makers of being Orwellian. 'This kind of gimmick makes light of surveillance but it’s not a joke. We should discourage children from feeling as if they’re living in some sort of panoptic state.’ Parents offered mixed reviews of the prop on website Amazon. One wrote ‘Makes life easier’, while another added: ‘It’s quite inexpensive, so you can save your money for a child psychologist a few years down the line.’



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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5117695/Santa-spy-cam-make-children-behave.html