Such contact can be hugely disruptive to families and in some cases put young people in danger if their birth parent had previously abused or neglected them.
The British Association of Adoption and Fostering (BAAF), the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) and The College of Social Work are among groups calling for regular meetings between social workers, adopted children and social networking sites on security issues.
Nushra Mansuri, BASW professional lead, said such meetings would help social networking sites, such as Facebook, better understand the specific security issues adoptive families and adopted children face.
She added: "One of the issues that could be discussed is how Facebook and others give information to adopted children about the risks. It could emerge that a simple message in the style of a public health warning won’t work. Instead there could be ways that more practical information can be given.
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