Is Your Elf on a Shelf a Slippery Slope to a Surveillance State? The ACLU Thinks So

Is Your Elf on a Shelf a Slippery Slope to a Surveillance State? The ACLU Thinks So

Is your Elf on a Shelf a practical tool to keep kids “in line” before Christmas — or is it a slippery slope to a surveillance state?

This week, the New York Times featured the article “Beware the Elf on the Shelf, Privacy Watchdogs Warn” — and concerns by national organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). 

“I know a lot of families just see this as a fun thing, but it’s worth thinking about the messages it’s giving to children about surveillance by authorities,” Jay Stanley, senior policy analyst at the ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, told the NYT. “Personally, I consider success as a parent to be teaching my kids to do the right thing even when nobody is watching, whether they be from the North Pole or anywhere else.”

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

According to the NYT, the Lumistella Company, which owns the Elf on the Shelf brand, said the activity offered entirely wholesome benefits.

“Santa’s Scout Elves don’t just help to keep up with the Nice List; they also share with Santa how families are spreading the spirit of Christmas,” the company said in a statement. “Many children note that their favorite moments throughout each season include waking up to see where the family’s Scout Elf has landed and the humorous scenes they sometimes set up. Our hope is that the Elf on the Shelf will create cheerful holiday moments and precious family memories that will last a lifetime.”

 

ACLU in RI

While Rhode Island ACLU Director Steve Brown did not respond to request for comment Friday morning, the local chapter for the nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States” has been vocal about surveillance at the government level. 

In November, the Rhode Island ACLU sued the Department of Labor and Training -- over what they said is blocking information as it relates to the use of facial recognition software in unemployment claims. 

In September, the ACLU called on the city councils in Cranston, Pawtucket, and Woonsocket to direct their respective police departments to halt the use of automated license plate reader (ALPR) technology leased from the company Flock Safety.

And during the pandemic — the ACLU released a report which they said highlights "the alarming lack of privacy protections given to students who use school-loaned laptop computers."

Though all schools in Rhode Island rapidly transitioned to virtual learning in March [2020] due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a survey by the ACLU of RI found that a majority of school districts give officials the "power to access the contents, microphone and camera of the student’s computer at any time."

Read more here. 

PHOTO: An Elf on the Shelf Doll. CC 4.0/An Errant Knight