China hands out location-tracking smartwatches to school children in southern city

17,000 students in Guangzhou can now be monitored via GPS and rival Chinese system BeiDou

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In 10 years, he probably won’t look as thrilled about the idea of constant surveillance. (Picture: Guangzhou News Radio FM962 via Weibo)

Published: 7:16pm, 16 Jul 2019Updated: 9:09am, 20 Sep 2019

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

For parents looking to keep track of their kids’ whereabouts, there’s no lack of gadgets designed to do the job. Now parents will be able to do it for free in one area in China.

A district government in the southern city of Guangzhou recently distributed free location-tracking smartwatches to about 17,000 students from 60 elementary schools, according to Guangzhou Daily. The aim, the government says, is to help parents supervise their children.

Dubbed “Safe Campus Smartwatches,” the wearables are equipped with GPS and China’s equivalent satellite navigation system, BeiDou. A senior engineer responsible for the project says positioning is accurate to within 10 meters.

Parents can monitor their child’s location through their smartphones. They’ll be instantly notified if the child sends out an emergency alert. The watch also warns parents if the child gets too close to lakes or rivers to help prevent drowning.

Tracking devices like these can ease parents’ concerns, but they also raise questions about personal privacy and data security.

China hands out location-tracking smartwatches to school children in southern city

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}17,000 students in Guangzhou can now be monitored via GPS and rival Chinese system BeiDou

17,000 students in Guangzhou can now be monitored via GPS and rival Chinese system BeiDou