ACLU Attacks ‘Elf on a Shelf,’ Says the Holiday Toy is ‘Not Healthy’
The popular Christmas toy “Elf of a Shelf” has landed on the American Civil Liberties Union’s naughty list this year.
Jay Stanley, senior policy analyst at the ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, told the New York Times that the toy is normalizing the idea of surveillance.
“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,” Stanley told the newspaper.
“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,” he continued.
Albert Fox Cahn,
