Company restores AI teddy bear sales after safety scare

FoloToy paused sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a safety group unveiled the toy gave risky and inappropriate responses during testing Now the company says it has restored sales after a week of intense review It also contends that it improved safeguards to keep kids safe The announcement arrived through a social media post that highlighted a push for stronger oversight The company explained it completed testing reinforced safety modules and upgraded its content filters It added that it aims to build age-appropriate AI companions for families worldwide Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy ReportGet my best tech tips urgent safety alerts and unique deals delivered straight to your inbox Plus you ll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide - free when you join my CYBERGUY COM newsletterTEXAS FAMILY SUES CHARACTER AI AFTER CHATBOT ALLEGEDLY ENCOURAGED AUTISTIC SON TO HARM PARENTS AND HIMSELFThe disagreement started when the Community Interest Research Group Development Fund tested three different AI toys All of them produced concerning answers that touched on religion Norse mythology and harmful household items Kumma stood out for the wrong reasons When the bear used the Mistral model it offered tips on where to find knives pills and matches It even outlined moves to light a match and blow it out Tests with the GPT- o model raised even sharper concerns Kumma gave advice related to kissing and launched into detailed explanations of adult sexual content when prompted The bear pushed further by asking the young user what they wished to explore Researchers called the behavior unsafe and inappropriate for any child-focused product FoloToy paused access to its AI toysOnce the findings became general FoloToy suspended sales of Kumma and its other AI toys The company reported PIRG that it started a full safety audit across all products OpenAI also validated that it suspended FoloToy's access to its models for violating policies designed to protect anyone under LAWMAKERS UNVEIL BIPARTISAN GUARD ACT AFTER PARENTS BLAME AI CHATBOTS FOR TEEN SUICIDES VIOLENCEFoloToy brought Kumma back to its online store just one week after suspending sales The fast return drew attention from parents and safety experts who wondered if the company had enough time to fix the serious issues identified in PIRG's record FoloToy posted a detailed report on X that laid out its version of what happened In the post the company announced it viewed child safety as its highest priority and that it was the only company to proactively suspend sales not only of the product mentioned in the assessment but also of our other AI toys FoloToy revealed it took this action promptly after the findings were published because we believe responsible action must come before commercial considerations The company also emphasized to CyberGuy that it was the only one of the three AI toy startups in the PIRG review to suspend sales across all of its products and that it made this decision during the peak Christmas sales season knowing the commercial impact would be critical FoloToy narrated us Nevertheless we moved forward decisively because we believe that responsible action must invariably come before commercial interests The company also explained it took the report's disturbing examples seriously According to FoloToy the issues were directly addressed in our internal review It explained that the group initiated a deep company-wide internal safety audit then strengthened and upgraded our content-moderation and child-safety safeguards and deployed enhanced safety rules and protections through our cloud-based system After outlining these actions the company disclosed it spent the week on rigorous review testing and reinforcement of our safety modules It concluded its announcement by saying it began gradually restoring product sales as those updated safeguards went live FoloToy added that as global attention on AI toy risks grows transparency responsibility and continuous improvement are essential and that the company remains firmly committed to building safe age-appropriate AI companions for children and families worldwide LEAKED META DOCUMENTS SHOW HOW AI CHATBOTS HANDLE CHILD EXPLOITATIONPIRG researcher RJ Cross noted her club plans to test the updated toys to see if the fixes hold up She noted that a week feels fast for such vital changes and only new tests will show if the product now behaves safely Parents will want to follow this closely as AI-powered toys grow more common The speed of FoloToy's relaunch raises questions about the depth of its review AI toys can feel exciting and helpful but they can also surprise you with content you'd never expect If you plan to bring an AI-powered toy into your home these simple actions can help you stay in control Not every model follows the same guardrails Selected include stronger filters while others may respond too freely Look for transparent disclosures about which model powers the toy and what safety features advocacy it Groups like PIRG often test toys in means parents cannot These reviews flag hidden risks and point out behavior you may not catch during quick demos Keep AI toys in shared spaces where you can hear or see how your child interacts with it This helps you step in if the toy gives a concerning answer Ask the toy questions try creative prompts and see how it handles tricky topics This lets you learn how it behaves before you hand it to your child A great number of AI toys run on cloud systems Updates often add stronger safeguards or reduce risky answers Make sure the device stays current AI toys can gather voice statistics location info or behavioral patterns A strong privacy program should explain what is collected how long it is stored and who can access it If an AI toy starts giving odd answers or pushes into areas that feel inappropriate stop using it and statement the challenge to the manufacturer Take my quiz How safe is your online safeguard Think your devices and evidence are truly protected Take this quick quiz to see where your digital habits stand From passwords to Wi-Fi settings you ll get a personalized breakdown of what you re doing right and what demands improvement Take my Quiz here Cyberguy com AI toys can offer fun and learning but they can also expose kids to unexpected risks FoloToy says it improved Kumma's safety yet experts still want proof Until the updated toy goes through independent testing families may want to stay cautious Do you think AI toys can ever be fully safe for young kids Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy comSign up for my FREE CyberGuy ReportGet my best tech tips urgent prevention alerts and specific deals delivered straight to your inbox Plus you ll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide - free when you join my CYBERGUY COM newsletter Copyright CyberGuy com All rights reserved