Apple 'passes the onus onto parents' in new child safety feature revamp

The new features were announced at an Apple conference this week. (Reuters: Carlos Barria) Apple has revamped its child safety controls to allow parents to manage the apps, websites and contacts their children can access. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the changes were in part inspired by Australia's under-16 social media ban. Apple's vice-president of health and fitness, Sumbul Desai, said the new tools would let parents "tailor their kids' digital journey". Link copiedShareShare articleApple has announced new child safety controls that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says are inspired by Australia's under-16 social media ban. The new controls will allow parents to manage the apps, websites and contacts their children can access on their Apple devices. The prime minister said Apple chief executive Tim Cook called him to give him the heads up about the changes being made to the products. "Mr Cook told me these changes are in part inspired by Australia's world-leading social media age ban, as well as the continued research Apple is undertaking into the impact of social media on kids," Mr Albanese said. Anthony Albanese says Apple's chief executive called him about the new features. (ABC News: Adam Kennedy) "I welcome this announcement, and I am proud of the world-leading work Australia is doing to fight for a safer online world for our children." Lisa Given, a Distinguished Professor of Information Sciences at RMIT University, said that while the changes from Apple were a step in the right direction, it was another example of tech companies passing the buck on to parents. "I think one of the challenges with this is that type of a shift puts a lot of control into parents' hands, but that means the onus is on the parents," she said. She said that "Australia has definitely got the world talking about this issue" and acknowledged that the Apple changes were likely driven by the social media ban. Australia's world-first social media ban for under-16s is two months old, but teenagers say they have found ways around it. But she said there had been a lot of pushback from tech companies that believed a social media ban "shouldn't be met at the platform or app level, it should be managed at the device level". Australia's social media ban, which began on December 10, stops children under 16 from creating and using accounts on several social media platforms. In June 2024, Australia's eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said the Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society had looked into options for policing phone manufacturers when it came to an under-age ban. Ms Inman Grant has been contacted for comment on the new Apple features. The revamp to Apple's child safety offering was unveiled at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in Cupertino, California on Monday, local time. It launched three main changes to its child safety features including a new child account that gives parents control over Ask to Browse, time allowances, and screen time settings. Parents will need to set up a child account to get the new features. (Supplied: Apple) There is also a new dedicated website for parents that adds to the existing child safety features of screen time passcode notifications and user reporting tools. Messaging apps will also blur graphic images by default and alert parents, expanding earlier safeguards focused on nudity. Apple said the changes provided "a new suite of powerful, intuitive, and easy-to-use features designed to allow parents to more easily manage the content their children can see, who they can communicate with, and when they have access to apps." "At Apple, our mission has always been to create technology that empowers people and enriches their lives, while helping keep them safe," said Sumbul Desai, Apple's vice-president of health and fitness. "Our approach to helping families create safer digital experiences is grounded in the belief that every child is unique." Ms Desai said the new tools would let parents "tailor their kids' digital journey" on Apple products. Professor Given said that while the changes would let parents dictate what their children did on Apple products, it could be a lot of work. Parents will be required to monitor who their children can connect with over messages. (Supplied: Apple) "Apple is basically saying, parents can have control, as long as they've set up those child accounts," she said. "If they don't, this could again end up kind of giving parents a bit of a false sense of security because this is something they actually have to actively enable. "The onus on parents here is absolutely massive and this presumption that parents are going to have the time and even the expertise to kind of go through all of these different requests ... is a lot to put on people's shoulders." Copy linkFacebookX (formerly Twitter)PromotionTop StoriesConcerns NDIS changes could push families towards child protection servicesTopic:Disabiliti

Apple 'passes the onus onto parents' in new child safety feature revamp

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Apple 'passes the onus onto parents' in new child safety feature revamp

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