The Australian chain of stores officeworks has removed Apple's new AirTags from its shelves, alluding to a lack of child safety when it comes to changing the device's button battery.
I highly doubt that Apple has released the Air Tag without having the child safety approval of the corresponding international organization. A priori it is not very complicated to be able to remove the battery from the device, but it has surely passed all kinds of regulatory controls in this regard.
An Australian chain with more than 160 stores office automation company, Officeworks, believes that Apple AirTags are not safe for children, and has withdrawn their sale, temporarily, until it has the approval of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
It is true that disassembling the AirTag and removing its button battery is not complicated. It does not have any security screw, as the housings of said batteries usually have CR2032 on other devices.
But it is also true that due to the small size of the AirTag, if it falls into the hands of a small child, it can be swallowed whole without disassembling it. Personally, I see the former more feasible than the latter.
In Australia they are very aware of the accidents that CR2032 button batteries and the like can cause among the little ones in the house. Since 2013, three children have passed away for swallowing these batteries, and around 20 children a week are treated in the emergency room for the same reason in Australia.
Let wait to see the response of Apple in this regard, and of the official consumer defense organizations, which in the end are the ones that decide if an item is suitable for sale, or does not comply with any child safety regulations, forcing the company to modify the battery removal mechanism, so it is not so simple.
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