The holidays are upon us, including “cyber week” filled with deals for shopping for the holidays. The U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) is warning shoppers about smart toys this holiday season. In its article,...more
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has published a final rule adopting a mandatory safety standard for consumer products that utilize button cell or coin batteries. CPSC enacted the rule as required by...more
The European Commission’s (EC) Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER) announced the release of its final opinion on the safety of titanium dioxide in toys on June 27, 2023. Following the...more
For consumers who were too stuffed from their Thanksgiving feasting or too weary of stressful bargain hunting to jam the malls or to flock to the internet for Black Friday deals, the words to the wise have started flowing on...more
With the holiday season upon us, kids will likely receive toys as gifts in the coming weeks. While the end of the year is a time for celebration, you must be cautious with all toys given to your children. Federal and...more
The European Commission (“EC”) gets started with its plans to improve toy safety in Europe with a Public Consultation leading the way to a new legislative proposal envisaged for Q4 2022. The new legislation is expected to put...more
There is a federal law, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), that requires app developers to obtain parental consent before collecting information from children under the age of 13. The law has been on the...more
While smart toys can certainly be useful educational tools for children, they also present some potential privacy risks and could invade what is traditionally a private space. Think about it—the thought of your child’s toy...more
When it comes to patents, toys typically are not top of mind like a mobile device or pharmaceutical product might be. Although a toy may appear simple, the product itself can be iconic and lucrative. But, as in most...more
Since 2015, the advent of smart and internet-connected toys has, according to some practitioners, transformed this age from that of the “Internet of Things” to the “Internet of Toys.” The potential unlawful surveillance and...more
Morgan Stanley shook the financial world yesterday with the announcement that it’s planning to drop $13 billion on a deal to purchase online discount brokerage E-Trade—the “biggest takeover by a major American lender since...more
One of the nation’s top consumer protection agencies cozied up to the businesses it was supposed to watch over, leaving children and other consumers vulnerable to significant harms....more
Holiday shopping is in full gear and everything seems to be an Internet of Things (IoT) device. It continues to amaze me how folks will buy IoT gadgets and plop them in their homes and have no idea that they include a speaker...more
Shop for Fun and Safe Toys This Holiday Season - We just know you have good girls and boys on your holiday shopping list this year. Or at least we hope so! Watching little ones open a thoughtfully selected present is one...more
Keeping Children Safe - Toys imagined by manufacturers, created for children and marketed to parents can pose safety risks so severe that an organization exists solely to keep children out of danger when playing with them....more
The Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) final rule expanding phthalate restrictions in children’s toys and child care articles takes effect this week, on April 25, 2018. The rule renews the ban on DEHP, DBP and BBP,...more
On January 8, 2018, the FTC announced that VTech, maker of electronic toys for children, agreed to settle charges that it violated the law by collecting personal information without parental consent....more
The Federal Trade Commission on Jan. 8 announced its first settlement of alleged violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act arising from internet-connected toys. The FTC complaint against VTech followed the...more
Every year, especially around the holidays, more and more products that connect to the internet hit the market. For adults, connected home devices that act like personal domestic assistants have become increasingly popular....more
In August 2017, Disney and three of its software developer vendors were sued in a class action in California in which it was alleged that Disney collected children’s information in violation of the Children's Online Privacy...more
On October 27, 2017, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a final rule prohibiting children’s toys and child care articles that contain specified phthalates. The rule caps off almost a decade of effort...more
This week, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) voted to expand existing phthalate restrictions in children’s toys and child care articles. ...more
On September 18, 2017, the iconic US-based retailer Toys “R” Us filed for Chapter 11 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in front of Judge Keith L. Phillips. The company filed twenty-five entities,...more
Welcome to the September edition of the Alston & Bird CPSC Recall Snapshot. Last month, the CPSC announced a nearly $6 million civil penalty against a U.S. retailer for selling recalled products. According to the civil...more
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”), by unanimous vote, has approved a final rule providing that seven plastics in children’s toys and child care articles will no longer require third-party testing because...more