Farragut mom wants Apple to regulate apps on iPhones

Farragut mom wants Apple to regulate apps on iPhones

By JOSH AULT
6 News Reporter

FARRAGUT (WATE) - A Farragut mom is upset after finding applications, better known as apps, on her son's iPhone that contain sexually explicit images.

Toni Applegate got her Apple iPhone over a year ago. She loved it, especially downloading the apps.

However, this week she started seeing several apps that concerned her. "The first one I saw was exotic positions, and I thought I hadn't set my restrictions yet so maybe it was just on mine."

It turned out, her phone wasn't the only one. The iPhones she gave her 12 and 14-year-old sons for Christmas had the same problem: hundreds of sexually explicit apps.

"I panicked," Applegate says. "I thought what am I doing, you know? I changed the restrictions down to four and you can't download, but you can see the pictures. You can read the full description of the application, and it gives a Web site."

"I've heard of those complaints, and certainly if you look in the apps store, there's certainly a lot of apps out there. Some of those apps can be considered offensive by some people," says Victor Agreda, an AOL program manager who works closely with Apple products.

Agreda says right now, parents can block their children from purchasing these apps, but they can still view the icons through iTunes on their phones.

"Unfortunately, the apps store is so new that Apple still doesn't have away of saying these offensive apps should not be in the top 10," Agreda says.

"I would like to see them create a category specifically for adult material, and create a pass code to make sure the person is of age," Toni Applegate says.

Victor Agreda says nudity isn't allowed on Apple's apps. "They continue to monitor the store, and there isn't anything explicit, and would be rated above an 'R', but that is a sliding scale, so they have to watch that very carefully."

Applegate says she still doesn't want her sons to see them. "Who wants their 14-year-old getting hooked on pornography? It's insane."

Applegate has started a Facebook campaign to get Apple to remove these apps from iPhones.

6 News tried to contact Apple for a comment on this story, but no one returned our phone call or email.