Alabama has never been shy about stepping in when children need protection. Last legislative session, lawmakers fought to raise the age of medical consent because, as a state, we understood the importance of parents making serious decisions for their minor children. That debate reflected a long‑standing principle: Children do not have the judgment, maturity, or life experience to make certain decisions on their own.
We already recognize this reality when it comes to driving, drinking, voting, and medical consent. Yet in one of the most consequential areas of modern life – the digital world – we’ve quietly abandoned that principle.
Today, a child can download apps that expose them to pornography, predatory adults, cyberbullying, and psychological manipulation with little more than a tap of the screen. No meaningful age checks. No parental notification. No accountability for the companies profiting from that access.
That should alarm every parent in Alabama.
A System Built on Assumptions, Not Safeguards
The current app ecosystem operates on the dangerous assumption that children will tell the truth about their age and that parents will somehow catch problems after the fact.
In reality, most app stores rely on self-reported birthdates. Once an account is created, age ratings become largely symbolic. Apps designed for older teens or adults remain fully accessible, and developers face virtually no consequences when minors access inappropriate content.
This isn’t a loophole caused by negligence. It’s the predictable result of a system designed for speed, convenience and profit – not child safety.
The Cost of Inaction Is Showing Up in Our Kids
The consequences of this hands-off approach are no longer theoretical. Across the country, rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide among children and teens have risen alongside increased smartphone and social media use.
Stories of children being sexually exploited, blackmailed, or psychologically harmed through apps surface with disturbing regularity. These are not rare anomalies. They are the foreseeable outcomes of allowing children unrestricted access to adult-facing platforms without meaningful oversight.
Alabama families are not immune to these risks. Pretending otherwise only delays the reckoning.
Strong Laws and Strong Parents Must Work Together
Protecting children online should not be framed as a choice between parental rights and government action. It requires both.
Parents have the primary responsibility to guide, supervise, and protect their children. That includes setting boundaries around technology use – even when it’s unpopular or inconvenient. Giving a child unrestricted access to a smartphone is not a neutral decision. It is a decision with real consequences.
At the same time, parents should not be expected to compete alone against billion-dollar tech companies whose products are engineered to capture attention and bypass adult oversight. Reasonable guardrails – such as requiring parental approval before minors can download certain apps – reinforce parental authority rather than undermine it.
Alabama Has an Opportunity to Set the Standard
As technology continues to evolve faster than cultural norms and existing safeguards, states will increasingly be forced to decide whether they are willing to adapt.
Alabama can lead by establishing clear, child-centered standards that recognize developmental realities and prioritize safety over convenience. That doesn’t mean banning technology or micromanaging families. It means acknowledging that children deserve protections in the digital world just as they do everywhere else.
Protecting Kids Is Not Anti-Technology
Technology itself is not the enemy. But pretending it is harmless for children is irresponsible.
Strong child-protection standards send a clear message: innovation does not excuse neglect, and profit does not override responsibility. Parents should remain in control of the decisions that shape their children’s lives – especially in spaces where the risks are high and the consequences are lasting.
Alabama has always understood that freedom comes with responsibility. Applying that principle to the digital lives of children is not radical. It’s overdue.
Emily Jones is a native of North Alabama and the content contributor of The Controversial Mom podcast on Right Side Radio. She is the founder of the first Moms for Liberty chapter in the state seeking to fight for the preservation of parental rights and the protection of our children. She is currently running for the State Board of Education in District 8.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please email your name and contact information to [email protected].
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