AT&T unveils Smart Limits for Wireless, web-based parental control service

AT&T (NYSE: T)’s recent survey revealed that 84% of consumers believe parental controls and safety tools are extremely important in keeping children safe while they use contemporary entertainment and communications technologies. So it doesn’t surprises that the carrier released the new parental control feature for its subscribers.

The AT&T Smart Limits for Wireless is a parental control service which allows parents to control the mobile phone activity of their children. Using the new web-based tool, parents can limit the number of minutes that their kids can use a mobile phone, set limits on text and instant messages, establish a dollar amount for mobile content purchases, block calls and messages to/from numbers they don’t approve, and filter access to the Internet content that is inappropriate for children.

While I do agree that children safety should come first, at the same time I can easily imagine ultra-conservatives putting the Orwell-like curtains on their children’s phones. And all that is available for $4.99 on top of the existing monthly bill for each line for AT&T wireless consumers.