Apple Takes Steps to Improve Child Safety
By Movieguide® Contributor
Apple recently took steps to keep kids safe on its devices by introducing several new features.
“First, we are introducing a new set-up process that will streamline the steps parents need to take to set up a Child Account for a kid in their family,” the tech giant said. “And if parents prefer to wait until later to finish setting up a Child Account, child-appropriate default settings will still be enabled on the device. This way, a child can immediately begin to use their iPhone or iPad safely, and parents can be assured that child safety features will be active in the meantime.”
In addition to default safety features, parents can update and correct age settings.
“Parents will be able to easily correct the age that is associated with their kid’s account if they previously did not set it up correctly,” Apple said. “Once they do, parents of kids under 13 will be prompted to connect their kid’s account to their family group (if they’re not already connected), the account will be converted to a Child Account, and parents will be able to utilize Apple’s parental control options — with Apple’s default age-appropriate settings applied as a backstop.”
These updates come after companies like Meta, Snap and X signaled their support for legislation like South Dakota’s recent bill that would “require age verification before an individual may access an application from an online application store.”
READ MORE: META, SNAP SUPPORT SOCIAL MEDIA AGE VERIFICATION LAWS
“Parents want a simple, manageable way to verify their child’s age and review the apps their teens want to download. The most sensible and effective place for age verification is at the OS/app store level,” the companies said in a letter.
Meta commented on Apple’s update, saying, “Today’s announcement is a positive first step, however, developers can only apply these age-appropriate protections with a teen’s approval. Parents tell us they want to have the final say over the apps their teens use, and that’s why we support legislation that requires app stores to verify a child’s age and get a parent’s approval before their child downloads an app.”
READ MORE: SENATE PASSES BILL TO PROTECT KIDS ONLINE, BUT WILL IT WORK?
It is wonderful that companies and legislation continue to work towards child safety online, but that isn’t a substitute for a parent’s role in protecting their kids. It is vital that parents create healthy screen time boundaries and monitor their children’s activity online to protect them from the dangers of the internet.
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