diff --git a/configure.in b/configure.in
index 7853e2292262..e81138257e93 100644
--- a/configure.in
+++ b/configure.in
@@ -5806,6 +5806,18 @@ MOZ_ARG_DISABLE_BOOL(permissions,
     MOZ_PERMISSIONS=1
 )
 
+dnl ========================================================
+dnl Child permissions, currently only used for b2g
+dnl ========================================================
+if test -n "$MOZ_B2G"; then
+    if test -n "$MOZ_PERMISSIONS"; then
+        MOZ_CHILD_PERMISSIONS=1
+    else
+        AC_MSG_ERROR([You need to enable MOZ_PERMISSIONS for MOZ_CHILD_PERMISSIONS])
+    fi
+fi
+AC_SUBST(MOZ_CHILD_PERMISSIONS)
+
 dnl ========================================================
 dnl NegotiateAuth
 dnl ========================================================
diff --git a/dom/ipc/Makefile.in b/dom/ipc/Makefile.in
index 9f9528197d5f..e4feca3108cd 100644
--- a/dom/ipc/Makefile.in
+++ b/dom/ipc/Makefile.in
@@ -50,4 +50,8 @@ ifdef MOZ_PERMISSIONS
 DEFINES += -DMOZ_PERMISSIONS
 endif
 
+ifdef MOZ_CHILD_PERMISSIONS
+DEFINES += -DMOZ_CHILD_PERMISSIONS
+endif
+
 CXXFLAGS += $(TK_CFLAGS)