The internet giant was accused of bypassing parents after contacting children before they turn 13 to tell them they would soon be able to switch off controls such as safety settings and app limits.
After a backlash, Google said it would now require parents to approve the controls being turned off.
Google allows children to have accounts from birth as long as they are set up and managed by parents. Parents can block adult content from searches, see children’s search histories and control screen time and app downloads on Android phones.
However, these settings are optional for children older than 13 in countries including the US and UK, and in the run-up to a child’s 13th birthday, Google would email both the child and parent informing them that the child would soon be able to turn the settings off.
Melissa McKay, the president of the Digital Childhood Institute, a US online safety group, criticised the practice after she found that Google had emailed her son.
Google is asserting authority over a boundary that does not belong to them
“A trillion-dollar corporation is directly contacting every child to tell them they are old enough to ‘graduate’ from parental supervision. The email explains how a child can remove those controls themselves, without parental consent or involvement,” she wrote on LinkedIn.
“Google is asserting authority over a boundary that does not belong to them.
“It reframes parents as a temporary inconvenience to be outgrown and positions corporate platforms as the default replacement. Call it what it is. Grooming for engagement. Grooming for data. Grooming minors for profit.”
The UK’s Conservative Party said Google was attempting to “establish a direct relationship” with children.
“This goes to show what parents are up against when it comes to managing their kids’ journey through the digital world,” UK shadow technology secretary Julia Lopez said.
“It is not simply a matter of being a tough and vigilant parent when tech companies try to establish a direct relationship with your child that circumvents controls.”
Katie Boyd Britt, a US Republican senator for Alabama, said: “Parents ? not corporations ? should be having these conversations with their kids.” In response to the criticism, Google said it was updating its settings so that parents would also have to approve switching the controls off.
“Building on our commitment to family safety, we’re making a planned update to require formal parental approval for teens to leave a supervised account,” a spokesman said.
“These changes better ensure protections stay in place until both the parent and teen feel ready for the next step. This builds on our existing practice of emailing both the parent and child before the change to facilitate family conversations about the account transition.”
The company said children aged over 13 would still be able to create new accounts without parental controls.
Thirteen is the minimum age at which people can consent to having their data processed in the UK and the US. Ireland has a minimum age of 16, as does Germany, while in France it is 15.
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