Apple Creates New Safety Controls for Kids' Phones

Apple announced new safety features that will help parents control what their kids can do on iPhones and iPads. The tech company said the changes were inspired by Australia's new law that stops kids under 16 from using social media. Parents will now be able to choose which apps, websites, and contacts their children can use. Apple's boss Tim Cook called Australia's Prime Minister to tell him about these changes.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was happy about Apple's announcement. He said Tim Cook told him the changes came from Australia's world-leading social media age ban. The Prime Minister also said Apple is doing research about how social media affects kids. '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,' Mr. Albanese said.

However, some experts think Apple is putting too much work on parents. Lisa Given is a professor at RMIT University who studies technology and information. She said the changes are good, but they make parents do all the hard work. She thinks tech companies should take more responsibility themselves.

Apple announced these changes at a big meeting in California on Monday. The company introduced three main new safety features. First, parents can create special child accounts that let them control what kids can see and do. Second, Apple made a new website just for parents to manage these controls.

But Professor Given warned that these new controls might be too complicated for many parents. She said parents need to set up the child accounts themselves, or the safety features won't work. If parents don't know how to use these tools, their kids might not be protected. She believes this puts too much pressure on families to figure out complicated technology.