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Apple veto'd a parental control app for iPhone because it does something that it's one-time exclusive provider, AT&T does for a fee.
Rowena Starling, an African American living in the Bay Area (California) is the creator of the Save-Your-Breath Android App offering parental controls with teen's and children's phones.
She would be the creator of Save Your Breath iPhone App as well if it were not for some vague policies offered in connection with Apple and AT&T when the prospectus was submitted to Apple for it's marketplace in late 2010.
This begs the question "why?"
The App can remotely lock text messaging and phone calls except to pre-authorized numbers and 911 or other emergency services if children or teens do not meet specified check in points. There's a horde of proven controls at work to ensure both the safety of the child whose phone is manually set to accept the parental controls. In other words, you can't gain control over anyone's phone except your kid's).
In short, this is a well developed, and robust App that just happens to do something the carrier may have wanted exclusivity with. Her app is poised as a structure to build relationship and trust, and it promotes self-commitment and responsibility on the part of the child or teen. It's great!
Comparitively, AT&T's app uses a lesser version of parental controls, featuring all the lockdown and little of the finesse offered by Rowena Starling's app. It's brutish, and is not very flexible.
This wouldn't be the first time AT&T looked at anti-trust issues: AT&T was a monopoly that was broken up in the late 1980's.
Why should a monopoly, even if it is a one-time lawful trade agreement struck between Apple and AT&T- why should that monopolistic agreement protect AT&T's idea of how Parents can legitimately use phone privileges as a tool of discipline?
In short, they shouldn't!!
While Apple did not officially comment as to why they would deny the App from their marketplace, YOUR VOICE on this petition will at least provide pressure to communicate, and it may actually overturn this unfair monopoly.
Rowena Starling genuinely seeks to help parents and children build trust and communication. Her app is well crafted, well developed, robust, and safe for kids to use. It offers a means to create this trust, but Apple and AT&T are currently preventing a good thing from being available to parents and teens.
Please sign this petition as a concerned parent who wants to see more parenting apps and see fair use of discipline with children instead of "all or nothing tactics."
Allow Rowena Starling's parental control app for iPhone to compete with your parental control servic
Greetings, Directors of AT&T, it is Anti-Trust time again
"Apple veto'd a parental control app for iPhone because it does something that it's one-time exclusive provider, AT&T does for a fee.
"Rowena Starling, an African American living in the Bay Area (California) is the creator of the Save-Your-Breath Android App offering parental discipline using teens' and children's phones.
"She would be the creator of Save Your Breath iPhone App as well if it were not for some vague policies offered in connection with Apple and AT&T when the prospectus was submitted to Apple for it's marketplace.
"(Please refer to http://save-your-breath.com to get some background on the company/person behind this.)
"As of 1997 her bid for Parental sanity began a media splash, and now it's her second go-round. Suitably in sync with the times, her App was planned for iPhone as well as Android, but Apple would not allow this App to be included in the marketplace.
"This begs the question "why?"
"The App can remotely lock text messaging and phone calls except to pre-authorized numbers and 911 or other emergency services if children or teens do not meet specified check in points. There's a horde of proven controls at work to ensure both the safety of the child whose phone is MANUALLY set to accept the parental controls (you can't go around locking anyone's phone except your kid's).
"There are also settings to make sure that the parent offers many steps before cutting off privileges. There's the absolute time marker such as 9:45pm (with grace period) or there's the relative time marker such as "2 hours from now." In short, this is a well developed, and robust App that just happens to do something the carrier may want exclusivity with.
"This wouldn't be the first time AT&T looked at anti-trust issues- would it?
"Comparitively, AT&T's app is a lesser version of parental controls, featuring all the lockdown and little of the finesse offered by Rowena Starling's app. Her app is poised as a structure to build relationship and trust.
"While Apple did not officially comment as to why they would deny the App from their marketplace, I am a developer who is willing to give it a go round to see if Apple may have lost track of it's reasoning now that Verizon is a carrier.
"I would also enjoy seeing some pressure on AT&T to open up it's monopoly on the parental control scheme. Of course, I'm just a programmer, but I have filed class action suits successfully affecting policy of US Bancorp, and Blockbuster Video Inc.
In my book, a simple petition to raise awareness would go much further, and avoid costs (that AT&T customers would eventually pay anyway. I happen to be one :)
"Please let me know if there's anything I can provide to help progress this cause.
Sincerely,
Max Bellasys
Chief System Architect,
StarLogic Systems LLC
max@starlogicsystems.com
on behalf of Rowena Starling and the Save Your Breath Android App
[Your name]