Google accused of ‘grooming’ 13-year-old by telling them to ditch parental controls on their birthday
Google has been accused of “grooming” teenagers by emailing those under 13 and outlining steps to turn off parental controls on their accounts.
A mother has accused the tech giant of “asserting authority” over its young users by contacting them and explaining steps they can take to update their accounts so they can “access more Google apps and services” when they turn 13.
Until children reach age 13 or the applicable age in their home country, their Google accounts must be managed by their parents; This is called a “custodial account”. This allows parents to block certain content, control their child’s screen time, and view browsing history.
At age 13, the age at which people in the UK and US can consent to their data being processed, the settings become optional and children no longer need to manage their accounts.
Google said it always notifies the young user and their parents when they approach the “digital consent” age and they can make changes to their accounts.
But following a policy change this week, the parent will now need to approve any change in control of the account.
The issue was raised by Melissa McKay, president of the US-based online safety group Digital Childhood Institute, after her son received an email from Google.
A screenshot of the email read: “Your birthday is coming up. This means that when you turn 13, you can choose to update your Google Account to access more Google apps and services, customizing your Google Account to make it your own.”
“A trillion-dollar company is contacting every child directly to tell them they are old enough to ‘graduate’ from parental supervision,” Ms. McKay wrote on LinkedIn.
“The email explains how a child can remove these controls without parental consent or involvement.
“Google claims authority over a boundary that is not theirs. It reframes parents as a temporary inconvenience to be overcome and positions enterprise platforms as the default fallback.
“Call it what it is. Preparation for engagement. Preparation for data. Grooming minors for profit.”
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) said allowing children to make such decisions about their own accounts could put them in danger.
Rani Govender, NSPCC’s online child safety policy manager, said: Independent: “Every child develops differently, and parents and caregivers should be the ones to decide with their children when the right time is for parental controls to change and how they want to approach this as a family.
“Leaving children to make decisions in environments where false information is common, user identities are unknown, and risky situations occur can put them in danger.”
Google has since announced that it will change its policy regarding accounts approaching 13 years of age.
Kate Charlet, the company’s global head of privacy, safety and security, wrote on LinkedIn: “Currently, Google emails both children and their parents before the minor reaches the age of digital consent to help ensure that switching to a minor’s account is a shared family decision.
“Per our planned policy update, supervised minors will be required to obtain parental consent before closing supervision.”
A Google spokesperson said Independent: “Based on our commitment to family safety, we are making a planned update to require formal parental consent for teens to leave a supervised account.
“These changes better ensure that protections remain in place until both the parent and youth feel ready for the next step.
“This builds on our existing practice of emailing both the parent and child prior to the change to facilitate family conversations about account migration.”
A government spokesperson said: “We expect all platforms covered by the Online Safety Act operating in the UK to comply with our laws and prioritize children’s safety.
“We have already taken some of the boldest steps globally to keep UK children safe online and to ensure content is truly age-appropriate. The law places clear duties on tech companies to protect young people from harm.
“These measures strike the right balance: protecting children in the UK from harm while ensuring they can enjoy the digital world safely.”
