Embedded Web Browsers in Apps

Question

Has anyone else noticed that many apps, including those rated 12+ and below have embedded web browsers? For example in the"Kindle" app you can access an embedded web browser by highlighting a word while reading a book. It will bring up an option to visit Google or Wikipedia to further define a word, but of course once there you can potentially look up anything you want. There are many apps that have browsers hidden in the settings. Awesome Note has one like this.
Whats the big deal? Web browsers in the app store are rated 17+ because you can potentially access "adult" material, but any 4+ app could contain a web browser with access to the same thing. For parents that are trying to protect their kids from inapropriate material this is a huge problem, as well as burdan to check every single app for one of these types of browsers.
I realize it would be an equally difficult task for Apple to moniter these things, but couldn't they offer a way to keep these browsers from launching? For instance, they could possibly allow a user to choose only 1 browser that could access the internet. Or no browser at all. The ideal situation would be to allow a company like Net Nanny to moniter all the internet traffic on the devic, but Apple has of course locked down the ios.
Is anyone else irate about this problem? Any solutions? If you are I would suggest you complain to Apple. It makes the Parental Controls on the device completely useless.

Answer 1

Johnathan Burger wrote:
If you don't want your kids to see-don't have the Internet.
What a truly foolish comment!  The Internet has become a digital version of the world itself--just accelerated and sanitized of all social responsibility.  In many ways, our advanced technology has stripped away thousands of years of complex social accountability that we call morality.  But this is a little too philosophical for an Apple Support thread...
To suggest that the way to avoid objectionable content on the Internet is to completely avoid the Internet is like saying the way to avoid getting injured in a car accident is to never drive (or travel as a passenger in any vehicle).  For better or for worse, the Internet is just as essential to modern life as the automobile.  To say we are wrong to demand effective parental controls is just as stupid as to reject seat belts and air bags.
Apple needs to close this loophole.