iPo(rne)d
Digital Trends is reporting that a Tennessee father bought a iPod for his 10-year old daughter that had some content not meant for tender eyes and ears:
CNN has a reported that a man allegedly purchased an mp3 player for his 10-year-old daughter as a Christmas present from a Wal-Mart store in Sparta, Tennessee. However, when she began using it, she discovered it was already filled with songs about drugs and X-rated video clips. "Within 10 minutes, my daughter was crying," Daryl Hill told the network. "I wish I could take the thoughts and images out of her head." According to Hill, the device – one of three he purchased there – had been returned to the store, and he wondered why they would then sell it as new. He declined Wal-Mart’s offer of a new replacement player and is keeping the one he bought for when he talks to a lawyer. Wal-Mart told Nashville WSMV-TV in an e-mail that returned, open packages were not supposed to be sold, and are investigating the matter.
I understand the father's outrage. No loving parent would want their child exposed to porn at such a young age. I do take exception to his desire to sue somebody, however. While it is certainly true that Wal-Mart probably should not have resold a returned item as new (if that is what happened), it is also true that many new electronic devices are arriving with content pre-installed. My Noka 91 cell phone is a good example. It has a MP3/video player that had many songs and videos pre-loaded. In my estimation, all of it was G or PG-13 rated. But that doesn't mean that someone wouldn't find some of it inappropriate for their children. I think the moral of the story may be that parents responsibility begins once the iPod is bought and should be maintained throughout the ownership of the device or until the child is old enough to make his or her own decisions about content. No retailer, no content producer or device maker, no regulatory agency, and no court of law should be trusted or expected to act as substitutes for Parental Guidance.