Melissa LaFreniere  |  December 10, 2015

Category: Consumer News

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BarbieThe toy manufacturing giant Mattel faces a potential invasion of privacy class action lawsuit filed by two California moms who claim the new Hello Barbie interactive doll records kids’ conversations without legal consent.

Plaintiffs Ashley Archer-Hayes and Charity Johnson allege that Hello Barbie, which was co-created by ToyTalk Inc., not only records children’s voices but it stores the conversations online without parental authorization.

According to Mattel, the Hello Barbie is certified by kidSAFE which means it complies with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The plaintiffs are also suing kidSafe in the Hello Barbie class action lawsuit.

The Mattel class action lawsuit alleges that Archer-Hayes bought a Hello Barbie doll for her daughter, set up a toyTalk account and downloaded the smartphone app that would allow her child to have a two-way “conversation” with her toy. However, during a Barbie-themed birthday party, Archer-Hayes’ daughter allowed her friends, including Johnson’s child, to play with the interactive doll which recorded other conversations from minors whose parents did not consent.

According to the Hello Barbie online description, the doll uses speech recognition technology in order to learn a child’s likes and dislikes which means a “unique experience” is provided for each individual kid. By pushing the Barbie doll’s belt buckle, a child can start a conversation and get a response.

Hello Barbie comes with more than 8,000 recorded lines and costs customers about $75. The doll can remember up to three different WiFi locations and does not require a smart device after WiFi configuration, according to Mattel’s website.

The Hello Barbie class action lawsuit states, “Defendants knew or should have known that the ‘Hello Barbie’ doll, a toy directed at children six-years-old and over, would be used in the presence of and by children under thirteen, other than the child-owner of the doll.”

In addition to invasion of privacy, the plaintiffs allege claims of unjust enrichment, negligence and violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law. The plaintiffs are suing Mattel, ToyTalk and kidSafe for an unknown amount of money.

If approved, the Mattel Hello Barbie class action lawsuit would be open to four different Classes: all U.S. Class Members who purchased a Hello Barbie doll for their children; all Californian Class Members who purchased the doll for their children; all U.S. Class Members whose children’s voices were recorded without their consent; all Californian Class Members who had their child’s voice recorded without consent.

Archer-Hayes and Johnson are represented by Steven W. Teppler of Abbott Law Group PA, Michael Louis Kelly, Behram V. Parekh, Heather Baker Dobbs and Justin M. Keller of Kirtland & Packard LLP, Michael W. Sobol of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP, Richard D. McCune of McCuneWright LLP and attorney Briana Kim.

The Hello Barbie Invasion of Privacy Class Action Lawsuit is Ashley Archer-Hayes, et al. v. Toytalk Inc., et al., Case No. BC603467, in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles.

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