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See the full story · 1 sourcesGo to the 9to5Mac home page Switch site 9to5Toys 9to5Google Logo 9to5Google Electrek Drone DJ Logo DroneDJ Space Explored About Privacy Toggle social menu Toggle dark mode Search for: Submit Toggle search form Forums Store Podcasts Apple@Work Happy Hour 9to5Mac Daily Overtime iPhone iPhone Mac Mac MacBook Pro MacBook Air iMac Mac mini Mac Studio Mac Pro iPad iPad Pro iPad Air iPad mini iPad iPadOS Watch Apple Watch Apple Watch Ultra Apple Health Apple Watch SE Vision Vision Pro visionOS Music and TV Apple Music AirPods HomePod Apple TV Guides Reviews How Tos AAPL Apple Store Apple Arcade Apple Card Apple Silicon Apple One Apple Fitness+ CarPlay Siri HomeKit Toggle dark mode AAPL Company iPhone Apple takes down billboard after accusations of normalizing ‘electronic babysitting’ Marcus Mendes | Aug 14 2026 - 12:29 pm PT 0 Comments Apple has replaced a billboard in Milan that showed a toddler holding an iPhone, as part of its newest “Relax, it’s iPhone” campaign. Here are the details.
A few days ago, Italian children’s rights watchdog Autorità Garante per l’Infanzia e l’Adolescenza (AGIA) decried Apple’s depiction of a toddler holding an iPhone as part of its “Relax, it’s iPhone” campaign.
The campaign, which focuses on the device’s durability and robustness, depicts situations where the iPhone gets wet, takes a fall, or is handled in ways that could put it at risk. That includes someone snapping a photo in heavy rain, someone watching a video with the iPhone sitting at the edge of a bathtub, a dog with an iPhone in its mouth, or a toddler awkwardly holding the device.
As soon as a billboard depicting the latter situation went up on Milan’s via Melchiorre Gioia, the AGIA received a letter from a concerned citizen stating that the ad normalized “electronic babysitting.”
The AGIA agreed, and referred the case to AGCOM, Italy’s communications regulator, AGCM, the Italian Competition Authority, and IAP, the country’s advertising self-regulatory institute, “for appropriate reviews and any potential action.”
Now, as reported by Prima Comunicazione and Repubblica Milano , Apple has taken down the controversial billboard, replacing it with a piece promoting the device's Find My capabilities.
Apple hasn’t commented publicly on the controversy, but the company’s rapid response suggests it took the criticism seriously, even if the ad’s intended message about iPhone durability differed from how it was interpreted.
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Marcus Mendes is a Brazilian tech podcaster and journalist who has been closely following Apple since the mid-2000s.
He began covering Apple news in Brazilian media in 2012 and later broadened his focus to the wider tech industry, hosting a daily podcast for seven years.
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