South Korea shutters selfie stick sales due to radio interference
South Korea has banned sales of unregistered selfie sticks after many of the Bluetooth photo-sticks were found to interfere with other devices as they were operating on unapproved radio frequencies.
Selfie sticks provide a greater distance from the taker - Avcana
The gadgets, which let owners extend their smartphones beyond arm’s reach to snap better selifes, are triggered by Bluetooth but some of the products were found to operate outside the country's designated radio bandwidth.
A spokesman for the South Korean Central Radio Management Office, an agency responsible for the regulation of such gadgets, said that fines and jail terms will be supplied to those found selling unregistered devices.
He said: "The announcement last Friday was really just to let people know that they need to be careful about what they sell.
“We've had a lot of calls from vendors who think they might have been unknowingly selling uncertified products."
Earlier this year, Ellen de Generes’ famous Oscar selfie made use of one of the gadgets.