Trending
To say we cannot trust Big Tech to protect our kids online is an understatement.
Parents - me included - are fed up with tech companies' empty promises and easily bypassed safeguards. Take Google's Family Link: it claims to give parents control while sending minors step-by-step instructions to disable protections. These systems actively endanger kids, exposing them to harmful content and risky interactions without parental knowledge.
We must demand better.
It's encouraging to see lawmakers like Congressman John Joyce (R-PA-13) advancing enforceable child safety solutions like Rep. John James' (R-MI-9) App Store Accountability Act.
I count myself among the 88% of parents who believe real parental oversight should start where kids access platforms: the app store. The App Store Accountability Act would require verifiable parental consent for all minors' app downloads the same way we require parental permission for kids to attend school field trips or access age-restricted products.
Thanks to support from Rep. Joyce and other lawmakers, the App Store Accountability Act now heads to the full House for a vote. But the fight isn't over.
Big Tech-funded opponents of the bill are pushing the so-called "Parents Over Platforms Act" - a weak alternative that shields companies from liability and makes parental consent optional. Parents see through their act, and lawmakers must too.
I urge Pennsylvania's House delegation - including Rep. Rob Bresnahan, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, and Rep. Ryan Mackenzie - to stand with parents and pass the App Store Accountability Act.
JEFF VARNER
Bressler
Submitted by Virtual Newsroom