Mother slams Google for telling her 13-year-old child to end parental supervision: 'Grooming minors for profit'

McKay shared screenshots of the email, which states that children over 13 can choose to stop account supervision.

An online safety advocate has accused Google of undermining parental authority after the company emailed her youngest child, saying he was “almost 13” and eligible to remove parental controls from his account. The allegation was made in a LinkedIn post by Melissa McKay, president of the Digital Childhood Institute.

The post drew strong reactions from parents who said their children received similar emails. (Unsplash/Representational image)

In her post, McKay shared screenshots of the email and Google help pages, which state that children over 13 can choose to stop account supervision and take “full responsibility” for their Google account. “Read that again. Slowly,” McKay wrote, calling it one of the most “predatory corporate practices” she has seen.

“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 said.

McKay further accused Google of asserting authority over a boundary that belongs to parents, not corporations. “It reframes parents as a temporary inconvenience to be outgrown and positions corporate platforms as the default replacement,” she said.

“Call it what it is. Grooming for engagement. Grooming for data. Grooming minors for profit,” she added, describing the practice as “absolutely reprehensible.” “Corporations should stay the hell away from our kids,” McKay concluded.

See the post here.

How did social media react?

The post drew strong reactions from parents who said their children received similar emails.

“Exactly! My daughter got the same email. Thankfully, she came straight to me and showed me and we talked about why it was important to have a parent supervising what you're doing as much as possible. But... every single word you've written is exactly how I felt at the time. I couldn't articulate it as clearly as you have, though, at the time,” shared one user.

“This is disgusting. And last I checked, my ‘parental’ rules last as long as my child is in my care. For most, that’s 18, when they’re still a minor,” commented another.

Some users said the issue was not limited to Google. One parent claimed Apple sent a similar message to their daughter at 13, telling her she could remove parental controls. According to the user, this made the child feel she was suddenly an adult and caused friction at home. “Why don’t you trust me when Apple clearly agrees it’s okay,” the child reportedly said, leaving the parent feeling undermined.

Others questioned the logic behind allowing children to override safeguards. “I am also really struck and alarmed by the statement ‘children decide when to stop supervision’. Seriously?? If the child decides when to over-ride the parenteral based controls then what’s the point of such controls? If a cooperation feels a child has the maturity at 13 to do this that is showing a lack of insight which is really alarming,” commented one user.