Are Your Kids Safe from Questionable Smartphone Apps?

In recent months, both Apple and Google faced criticism over the questionable content of certain apps in their online app stores, leading parents to wonder what exactly their children have access to when using popular smartphones. In March, Apple yanked a controversial “gay cure” app for the iPhone after an online petition calling for the app’s removal received 146,000 signatures in 24 hours. According to Exodus International, the religious group that created the application, Exodus is the largest Christian referral and information network dealing with homosexual issues, defining its mission as promoting "freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus Christ." The group’s “freedom from homosexuality” app leads the user back to a website that focuses on abstaining from gay lifestyles, something Exodus International views as fundamental to upholding the values of Christianity. In late April, Google found itself in the middle of a similar controversy when a game for its Android operating system for phones simulating dog fighting appeared in its on-line shop, Android Market.