A mother confiscated her 14-year-old daughter’s iPhone after discovering older men soliciting her daughter for sex through an app that Apple deemed appropriate for children. A 15-year old boy became violent and homicidal after using an AI chatbot marketed to children. A 14-year old girl developed an eating disorder using a gaming app whose main character focused on losing weight.
These are just a handful of examples of children being harmed by apps that were rated “safe” for teenagers in the Apple and Google app stores. For years, the two tech giants that control over 99% of American smartphones have failed to adequately protect children from harmful apps in their app stores, exposing kids to sexual exploitation, obscenity, and abuse of personal data.
While Apple and Google tout rigorous app store reviews and parental controls, those tools don’t do nearly enough to address the challenges facing families today. Legislation is needed, and Congress can help make the mobile ecosystem safer nationwide by passing the App Store Accountability Act (ASAA).
