The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is now urging parents to keep AirTags out of the reach of young children for safety reasons.
In May 2021, Australian retailer Officeworks removed Apple AirTags from sale due to battery concerns. A spokesperson for Officeworks saidthat the company would wait “until the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission provides further guidance.” The ACCC has now issued a statement advising parents to keep the AirTags out of the reach of small children because of their small batteries. explained Delia Rickard, Deputy Chair of the ACCC:
As a safety precaution, we urge parents to keep AirTags away from their children. We know that young children can be fascinated by keys and love to play with them, so there is a risk that they could access this product, which is designed, among other things, to be attached to a keychain.
Apple: AirTags meet international standards for child safety
The problem is mainly due to the small batteries contained in the AirTags and their easy accessibility. According to the ACCC, more than one child per month is seriously injured by eating batteries or putting them in their ears.
We were also concerned that the external product packaging did not include a warning about the presence and dangers of button batteries. We note that Apple has now included a warning on the AirTag's packaging, but this alone does not address our fundamental concerns about children being able to access the button batteries in these devices.
Apple has not commented on the new warning, but the ACCC points out that the company has previously stated that the AirTags are designed to meet international child safety standards. (Photo by hadrian / Bigstockphoto)
