Mothers will do anything to protect their children. However, in today’s digital age, it is getting harder and harder to keep up with the online dangers threatening our kids. With very few guardrails in place to effectively protect minors, the number of harmful apps, inappropriate chat rooms and general bad actors online grows. Worst of all – parents remain largely in the dark.
The App Store Accountability Act is a lifeline for parents. In my work advocating for the most vulnerable among us, I know how important it is to empower parents to protect the lives and well-being of their children. By offering tools for parents to oversee their kids’ online activities, this bill would put parents back in the driver’s seat. Overwhelmingly, parents are in favor of passing legislation like the App Store Accountability Act.
Introduced by U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and Representative John James (R-MI), this legislation must be re-introduced and passed into law. It is time to meet the needs and demands of parents across the country.
The App Store Accountability Act is the easiest, safest and most effective way to address child online safety and prevent dangerous content from ever reaching a child’s device.
For parents, this legislation creates a streamlined system for approving or blocking an attempted app download. There are no more complex steps, just one simple action. Parents do not have to monitor all the apps on a child’s phone, just the app store, making this a one-stop-shop.
Second, this legislation is effective. In all other facets of a child’s life, parents are engaged. From the sports they play and their after-school activities, to which friends they see outside of school. Nutrition, bedtimes, acceptable behavior – it is all determined and monitored by parents and guardians. So, we must ask, why are parents excluded from being involved in the online habits of their children? This must change. The same parental liberties they have in other aspects of their children’s lives have to be applied to the online world. In doing so, parents are better able to manage their children’s online engagement and exposure. Thus, becoming the first and last defense against dangerous content. This system allows parents to monitor all attempted downloads, instead of trying to do damage control days or weeks after an app has had negative effects on their child.
Further, this bill targets all apps, not just billion-dollar platforms. Parents cannot be expected to keep up to date with the latest trends. They need to be prepared to defend against the dangers spurring from the up and coming, unchecked apps. This bill gives them that chance.
The age-verification element of this legislation goes one step further in allowing parents to make age-conscious decisions. The App Store Accountability Act would ensure that children are not accidentally downloading content that would be damaging to their well-being.
Lastly, this bill is safe. The personal data of children and parents are not exposed in the name of internet safety. This bill works at the app store level, which means that at no point is age-related information given to third party platforms. Parents can rest assured that they are the decision makers, not large corporations using personal data to dictate what is best for them.
Other bills claim to protect children’s online well-being but then fail to empower parents and protect personal data. The Kids Online Safety Act is one of these well-intentioned, yet misguided bills. Instead of allowing parents to be in charge, it gives power to the government to decide what is suitable for children to have access to online. I urge my fellow moms to think deeply about who should be at the forefront of their kids’ safety: parents or government bureaucrats?
The App Store Accountability Act is the best way we can empower parents to be the decision-makers and protectors of their children. As things stand, minors can download apps, join messaging boards, and talk with strangers all without parental oversight. The App Store Accountability Act is seeking to change this dangerous status quo. Join me in calling for the swift passage of the App Store Accountability Act in Congress.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Nicole Smith is the President and Founder of the Dignity Defense Institute, a nonprofit organization committed to the inherent dignity of every human life.
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