SLS 19RS-268 ORIGINAL
2019 Regular Session
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 36
BY SENATOR MIZELL
CONGRESS. Memorializes Congress to support the #fixappratings initiative to deter
children from downloading electronic applications (apps) that are harmful to minors.
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2 To memorialize the Congress of the United States to support the #fixappratings initiative
3 calling for accurate, third-party application (app) ratings and intuitive parental
4 controls to better protect children from harmful online and mobile device content.
5 WHEREAS, millions of children use online and mobile devices daily; and
6 WHEREAS, parents rely on ratings to decide whether to allow their children to have
7 access to apps available online and on mobile devices; and
8 WHEREAS, app developers currently self-rate their apps and display the ratings in
9 app stores; and
10 WHEREAS, this rating system can be misleading, inconsistent, and does not
11 appropriately warn parents of the potential dangers found in applications; and
12 WHEREAS, no third-party organization holds app developers accountable to ensure
13 ratings are accurate and adequately explain the content and advertising available to children
14 therein; and
15 WHEREAS, popular apps often do not include or have adequate parental controls;
16 and
17 WHEREAS, apps can be hot spots for bullying, grooming, sex-trafficking,
18 pornography, glamorized self-harm content, and the buying and selling of illegal drugs; and
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SLS 19RS-268 ORIGINAL
1 WHEREAS, in order to protect children from such harm, parents seek adequate
2 parental controls as well as the information necessary to determine if apps are appropriate
3 for their children; and
4 WHEREAS, the #fixappratings initiative calls for the creation of an independent app
5 ratings board and rating system that is clearly understood, enforced, trustworthy, and exists
6 to protect the innocence of minors; and
7 WHEREAS, the #fixappratings initiative also calls for the release of intuitive
8 parental controls to ensure that parents can effectively control their children's app activity.
9 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana memorializes
10 the Congress of the United States to support the #fixappratings initiative calling for the
11 establishment of a third-party organization to assign app ratings and descriptions and the
12 development of user-friendly parental controls.
13 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution shall be transmitted
14 to the secretary of the United States Senate and the clerk of the United States House of
15 Representatives and to each member of the Louisiana delegation to the United States
16 Congress.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Morgan B. Robertson.
DIGEST
SCR 36 Original 2019 Regular Session Mizell
Memorializes Congress to support the #fixappratings initiative calling for accurate, third-
party application (app) ratings and intuitive parental controls to better protect children from
harmful online and mobile device content.
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