by Walter Blanks Jr
Memphis is a city in transformation. Thanks many of our state’s policymakers and federal partners, our state has pushed back on crime, bolstered our police and law enforcement presence, and embraced community initiatives to reclaim our neighborhoods. However, while our streets and communities are patrolled by public safety authorities, our children roam a much less supervised digital world that leaves them exposed and vulnerable.
Over the past month, Memphis has seen a dramatic surge of law enforcement. This “Memphis Safe Task Force,” backed by President Trump’s administration, Governor Bill Lee, Senator Marsha Blackburn, Senator Bill Hagerty, the Tennessee National Guard, state legislators, and federal agencies, has made over 1,000 arrests in just weeks for offenses ranging from homicides and sex crimes to narcotic trafficking and gang activity. Law enforcement has also served 418 warrants and located 40 missing children in this same period.
We’re demanding safety in our streets, and it’s high time we do so online as well.
Like a poorly patrolled neighborhood, the digital world is a free-for-all for bad actors and criminals. Time and again, law and order come second to profit for tech companies – and nowhere is this twisted logic more apparent than the app store duopoly.
Apple and Google’s digital marketplaces are open season for shady developers to misrepresent content risks and lure children into complex contracts. Current rules allow kids to download any of the millions of platforms on the app store and give binding consent for their data to be mined and sold. Once installed, these apps open the door to anonymous messages from child predators, suggestive encounters with AI chatbots, and backdoor browsers to porn, exposing children to fraud, trauma, and extortion.
Like a knife at a gunfight, many optional safety features at parents’ disposal are a poor substitute for meaningful defense against the onslaught of unsafe online experiences.
President Trump has made law and order a central tenet of his agenda. He deployed boots to Beale Street. Why not also toughen up on the app stores? The App Store Accountability Act, sponsored by U.S. Senator Mike Lee and U.S. Congressman John James would give parents the best tools for their arsenal to address the threats our children face online.
Here’s how it mirrors what we’re seeing in our cities:
- Parental consent as a checkpoint
Just as task force officers are authorized to stop, search, or detain when suspicious activity is present, app stores should require verifiable parental consent before minors install apps or make in-app purchases. This isn’t a reaction – it’s preventive access control that empowers parents to sign off on what their minor children have access to at the app stores. - Honest age ratings as warning signs
On our streets, we post signage: “No trespassing,” “Dangerous curve ahead,”, etc. App stores currently allow labels (“12+,” “Teen”) that often don’t match the risks – violent content, chatrooms, anonymity, gambling-like systems, etc. We need honest signage and age ratings in app stores. - Uniform standards and coordinated enforcement
The Memphis task force combines federal, state, and local agencies so that enforcement isn’t fragmented. Similarly, the App Store Accountability Act would standardize age categories across developers and platforms – so protections aren’t piecemeal but comprehensive. - Consequences for noncompliance
An officer who ignores a legal warrant is held accountable. A store that lets predators through should be held to answer.
We already believe in safety by default. If we accept that Memphis streets should be free from random gunfire, aggressive predators, and terror on the sidewalks, then we shouldn’t stand for anarchy online. We wouldn’t let a child walk into a dark alley without oversight; accordingly, we cannot allow them to wander into digital spaces without parental supervision and protection.
We have proven we’re capable of safety improvements in our urban environment. Crime is complex and never fully solved. But with sustained public pressure and leadership, we can shift the balance toward security. Similarly, we can’t wave a magic wand over the internet – and we shouldn’t expect parents to fight alone. Legislation like the App Store Accountability Act makes sure Apple and Google are fighting on their side.
So while troops walk Beale Street, while task forces descend on high-crime corridors, let’s demand that when a child taps “download,” we meet that moment with protection – not passivity.
If we can reclaim our cities, we can reclaim our children’s digital world too. By passing the App Store Accountability Act, Congress has the power to keep kids and families safe in Memphis and beyond.
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Walter Blanks Jr is the Executive Director of Black Americans United for Tennessee.
Photo “Tennessee National Guard Members” by Tennessee National Guard.
