Google informs children when their parents are monitoring their account activity, the tech giant confirmed this month, with the company claiming that doing so is a way of balancing the interests of both parents and children.
Google’s child-notification policies received attention when film director Robby Starbuck claimed on Twitter that his 7-year-old child had received a warning from Google that his account was being monitored.
Our 7 year old son has to have google for homeschooling so naturally we setup parental controls but look what @Google did. They sent my son an email to tell him his privacy is important to them and telling him we’re supervising his account. Let me explain what they’re doing. pic.twitter.com/iGEFCTxPQ0
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) December 10, 2020
“Your privacy is important to us,” the company wrote to the 7-year-old boy, “and we want to remind you that your parent … is supervising your Google account.”
Reached for comment, the company confirmed it does notify young children when parents are monitoring their account activity.
Warnings are a good thing. It would, in this case, be better for parents to do the deed, rather than Big Brother.
So, does Google tell parents when the underage kids go to sites they shouldn’t?