Australia’s Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has labelled Apple’s Airtags as potentially dangerous for children.
Apple’s Airtags are small round Bluetooth tracking devices that are designed as a way for Apple users to keep track of their things.
However, the gadget has come under fire from the ACCC over safety concerns. The ACCC released an official statement urging parents to keep AirTags out of reach from young children.
The consumer commission believes that the battery in the tiny tracking device is too easy for young children to access.
Batteries can be potentially deadly for young children, in 2020 a three-year-old Brittney Conway passed away from swallowing a button battery.
In response, ACCC launched a campaign called, “Tiny batteries, Big danger.”
ACCC, deputy chair, Delia Rickard said: “We were also concerned that the outer product packaging does not have any warning about the presence and dangers of button batteries, and we note that Apple has now added a warning label to the AirTag’s packaging.
“However, this alone does not address our fundamental concerns about children being able to access the button batteries in these devices,”
Apple has stated the AirTag is, “designed to meet international child safety standards, by requiring a two-step push-and-turn mechanism to access the user-replaceable battery.”
AirTags are not currently being sold at Officeworks and other retailers because of these safety concerns.
ACCC has stated it will continue to investigate the matter but it has not recalled the Apple product.
