UNITED STATES – JULY 20: Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, July 20, 2021, to announce legislation that would require the president to consult with congressional leaders and obtain congressional authorization before exercising certain national security powers. (Photo by Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Parents are essential to good parenting outcomes. It’s sad that the obvious has to be stated, but sometimes it has to be. Especially right now.
As you read this, Representative John James (R-MI) is pushing the “App Store Accountability Act” through Congress. Among other things, the legislation would hold digital app stores (think those operated by Google and Apple) to the same standards as brick-and-mortar stores, requiring them to verify the ages of minors before they can download certain apps.
Seemingly adding weight to James’ legislation (Sen. Mike Lee is promoting an identical bill in the US Senate) is that Jonathan Haidt, author of The Anxious Generationsupports it as an aid to parents. If Apple and Google are effectively required to “check ID” by law, devastated parents will have one less thing to worry about. The thought is wrong. Dangerously so.
To see why, consider what is currently happening with prescription GLP-1 weight loss drugs. While the age limit for purchasing medicines is 18, h Washington Post recently reported that younger teenagers work predictably around age limits. As described in Positionwith the goal of obtaining the prescription drug, the teenagers “went online and lied about their age and weight to gain access.” This is exactly the point critics of the App Store Accountability Act (both state and national) have made.
While politicians can write all sorts of legislation intended to keep kids away from smartphones and away from apps, games and content that aren’t suitable for them, simply writing a law is not the same as abolishing a market. The reality is that young people want to use smartphones and will want access to all kinds of apps, games and content, regardless of the law.
It speaks to the genius of what both Apple and Google have done. Fully aware of how far-reaching the smartphone desires of minors are compared to what their parents desire, the two companies have armed parents with all kinds of ways to control what their children see and do while on their smartphones.
If minors want to add an app, their parents are notified first. After that, they can add the app only after their parents have reviewed the app and given permission. If nude or otherwise boring photos are sent to minors, the images are blurred. If they choose to send nude or otherwise hardcore photos, the images will be blurry.
When it comes to screen time overall, parents are in total control. Parents not only have the power to control the amount of screen time, but they also have oversight of the kinds of screens young people can see during the day. Which means smartphone use is curtailed during the school day, during homework hours, and then can be completely turned off at night so parents can sleep knowing their kids aren’t awake scrolling through their smartphones.
Google and Apple are making it easier for parents to be parents, not by relying on legislation designed to ease the burden of parenting, but by equipping parents with enhanced oversight so they can be better and more effective parents at all times. Which is in complete contradiction to the so-called “App Store Accountability” legislation. By freeing parents from substantive supervision, the legislation encourages children to work around the law. Revisit GLP-1 markets.
The law cannot replace parents. We hope that the App Store accountability legislation fails with this critical, pro-parent and pro-child truth in mind.
