He added: “Maybe these are elves that should be left on store shelves.”
Caitriona Fitzgerald, deputy director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a public interest research group, said children need private spaces to grow up with a sense of autonomy and independence.
“If kids think they are always being watched, even when the watcher is a magical elf, that can have real effects on how they see themselves in the world,” she said.
Mr. Cahn, of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, said children should be taught that “no one should be looking at you in your bedroom without consent.” There is a cost to normalizing surveillance, he said, “even in the most adorable ways.”
“I don’t want to be the first one to take Santa Claus to court for invasion of privacy, but consent matters, and having privacy matters,” he said.
The elf has also become a presence in classrooms, with teachers opting to bring him to school as a December activity for young children.
Liz Janusz, an instructional coach in Los Alamos, N.M., said she did not believe the elf belonged in schools, largely because it excludes children who don’t celebrate Christmas. But, Ms. Janusz added, she loves the tradition for her children — it just requires a slight recasting of the narrative.