Apple has fixed a major bug in their parental controls software after a congressman from New Jersey pressed them to get their act together.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff) had gone directly to Tim Cook, the Apple CEO, with his concerns that their software glitch prevented parents from managing online screen time or blocking explicit content and “putting kids at risk.”
“After calling on Apple to give parents back the power to protect their children, I’m glad to see that they’ve listened and released a new software update to address Screen Time software flaws,” said Gottheimer. “This Apple update is brand new, so we’ll see if it stops Screen Time parental controls from randomly resetting after parents set them.”
Gottheimer said that “every parent needs to download this new Apple Screen Time software update on all of their families’ devices to protect kids from excess screen time and explicit content.”
“Trust me, sometimes we’d love to take the smartphones, laptops, and tablets away from our kids for good, but it’s just not realistic,” he said. “Kids today use these devices to do their homework, connect with their friends, and call their parents when they need help.”
The North Jersey Democrat cited a study that found excessive screen time among teenagers – which could be up to nine hours daily – results in poor grades, sleep, weight and mood problems, and reduced physical activity.
Gottheimer had accused Apple of “dragging their feet on developing effective parental controls for their addictive products.”
“Turning a profit cannot be more important than protecting our children,” he stated. “I’m sounding the alarm.”