Google has been accused of acting in a manner akin to 'grooming' after it directly emailed children under the age of 13, instructing them on how to turn off parental controls on their accounts.
Email Sparks Parental Outrage
The controversy erupted after Melissa McKay, president of the US-based online safety group Digital Childhood Institute, revealed an email her son received from the tech giant. The message arrived ahead of his 13th birthday and stated: "Your birthday's coming up. That means when you turn 13, you can choose to update your Google Account to get access to more Google apps and services, customize your Google Account to make it your own."
Ms McKay took to LinkedIn to voice her fury, arguing that Google was "asserting authority over a boundary that does not belong to them." She condemned the email for framing parents as a "temporary inconvenience" and positioning corporate platforms as the default replacement for parental guidance. "Call it what it is," she wrote. "Grooming for engagement. Grooming for data. Grooming minors for profit."
The Policy and the Swift Reversal
In the UK and USA, the age of 13 is significant as it is when individuals can legally consent to their data being processed. Until that age, Google requires accounts to be set up as "supervised accounts," allowing parents to block content, control screen time, and monitor browsing history.
Google stated it has always notified both teenagers and parents as they approach this "age of digital consent." However, the email sent to Ms McKay's son outlined steps the child could take themselves, without requiring parental approval.
Following the backlash, Google announced a major policy U-turn. Kate Charlet, Google's global head of privacy, safety and security, confirmed the change, stating that under the new policy, any supervised minor would need formal parental approval before turning off supervision. A Google spokesperson told The Independent this change "better ensure protections stay in place until both the parent and teen feel ready for the next step."
Child Safety Experts Voice Grave Concerns
The incident has drawn sharp criticism from child protection organisations. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) warned that allowing children to make such decisions alone could be dangerous.
Rani Govender, the NSPCC’s policy manager for child safety online, emphasised that every child develops differently and decisions about parental controls should be made collaboratively within the family. "Leaving children to make decisions in environments where misinformation is rife, user identities are unknown, and risky situations occur, can put them in harm’s way," Govender cautioned.
A UK government spokesperson reiterated that platforms operating under the Online Safety Act have a clear duty to protect young people, stating: "We expect all platforms covered by the Online Safety Act that operate in the UK to adhere to our laws and put children's safety first." The policy reversal from Google highlights the ongoing tension between tech company practices, child data privacy, and evolving online safety regulations.
