That selfie stick in your hand. A harmless memory-maker? Or a potentially chaos-inducing electromagnetic radiation emitter?
In South Korea, it seems, it could be both and anyone selling an unregistered version could face a $27,000 fine or up to three years in prison, the Science Ministry announced last week. The South Korean government is attempting to crack down on retailers of so-called "selfie sticks".
Sadly, they're not arresting them for the crime of making people look uncool. No, the Korean government are organising a crack down because the bluetooth devices haven't been properly tested before going on sale and could cause other electronics to malfunction, Korea Times reports. Anyone found selling the untested tech could face fines of up to 30 million won (£17,000) and a prison sentence of up to three years.
The extendable devices hold your phone in place and let you take selfies from further away. This means you can include more people in your photograph- no, we're not calling a 'group selfie' an 'usie' or an 'ussie' or whatever it is
Selfie stick vendors in Seoul appeared to be taking the ministry’s order in their stride as it’s not really the main source of their profit. A basic model sells for as little as $5.0 and the bluetooth-enabled versions go for $25 and up.
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