[Inside Chodong] The Betrayal of Kids' Phones... The Government Must Step Up

"I can't believe it's this easy to access adult content through a kids' phone. Telecom companies and device manufacturers are deceiving consumers."

Recently, as I investigated the reality behind so-called "kids' phones," which supposedly protect children from harmful content, I encountered repeated complaints from parents. Many parents, after agonizing countless times over whether to buy their child a smartphone, ultimately settle for a kids' phone as a compromise with reality.

As parental concerns have driven up demand for kids' phones, the three major telecom companies are fiercely competing to market these devices for the new school year. Promotional slogans from the telecom companies boast that their kids' phones come equipped with various AI-based harmful content blocking features, and that parents can thoroughly manage specific apps and usage times through child management applications. These claims are often enough to reassure parents who worry that handing a smartphone to their child could open a "Pandora's box."

But what is the reality? The kids' phone I personally tested was, in fact, left virtually unprotected against harmful content due to a lax system that fell far short of the telecom companies' promotional claims. Although I followed the telecom company's instructions and installed the child management app, blocking YouTube and other social media services, it was still possible to bypass these controls by using widely shared workarounds among kids' phone users. As a result, children could secretly watch YouTube, rendering the claims of control and management meaningless.

No special technical skills were needed. With just a few simple clicks, children could easily access harmful content without their parents' knowledge. The bigger issue is that it's difficult to trace any record of accessing harmful content through these workarounds. While parents firmly believe that their "kids' phone" protects their child from harmful content, their children may actually be left in a blind spot of management.

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When asked for solutions, the three major telecom companies-SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus-replied with the same canned responses. The telecom companies said, "It's impossible to block every workaround," and "It's like a battle between sword and shield-we can't keep up with kids who are determined to bypass the controls." They added, "There are limitations to what telecom companies alone can do, and active cooperation from device manufacturers is necessary." Samsung Electronics, a device manufacturer, responded to criticism about YouTube workarounds through its own platform by saying, "It will take time to change the policy since it is linked to our website. Our business division is currently considering solutions." There is criticism that, although it is technically feasible to close these management loopholes through a software update, the company is delaying action due to its own interests.

Telecom companies and device manufacturers have long been aware of not only the existence of easy workarounds to bypass child management apps, but also the overall limitations of kids' phones. Yet, they continue to aggressively market kids' phones by preying on parental anxiety, all while hiding the widely known fact that these workarounds are rampant. The various harmful content blocking methods offered by telecom companies as alternative measures are, in fact, burdensome and complicated for parents to implement one by one.

With kids' phone sales rising sharply every year, government oversight is urgently needed. Even now, telecom companies and manufacturers must come together, with a "parent's mindset," and make a genuine effort to manage harmful content. As global regulations such as bans on social media for teenagers grow increasingly strict, the government's continued tolerance of telecom companies' exaggerated advertising and its failure to address the issue of kids' phones amounts to nothing less than neglect of duty.

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