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There are a lot of products and technologies available that support children asking for parental consent before purchases, etc. (Amazon, Microsoft, etc...)

And, it really isn't that hard to do to confirm whether someone is an adult, (at least in the U.S. and with IDs).

So, why aren't software companies, or at least their distributors, required to make good faith efforts to enforce age restrictions?

For example, maybe an answer would address:

Do age restriction laws somehow indicate what a good-faith effort should look like? Or, do these laws not actually exist, therefore not requiring a good-faith effort?

I suppose this is more or less addressing the theories of good-faith practices to comply with laws, and not specifically this issue.

elika kohen
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First of all, the only real answer to "Why doesn't the law require this or that?" is "Because the legislature hasn't passed such a law." In the US, Congress or a state legislature could, if they chose to, pass such a law. I see nothing unconstitutional about it.

And, it really isn't that hard to do to confirm whether someone is an adult, (at least in the U.S. and with IDs).

Actually, it is quite hard to confirm a person's real age and identity over the internet, if you assume that the person is willing to lie, and has access to a credit card and ID of an adult, which many teens can obtain if they wish. The usual means of validating age, say for entry into a bar, involve physical inspection of an ID, and comparison of it with the person by a trusted checker. Not easy over the net.

David Siegel
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Depending on the circumstances, companies may be required to make some effort. For example the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act 15 U.S.C. §§ 6501–6506 (or see Wikipedia) provides for when website operators must obtain "verifiable parental consent".

Examples of how to obtain consent (FTC):

  • a consent form sent by mail, fax or scanned and emailed to the operator

  • credit card, debit card, or other online payment system

  • a toll-free telephone number or videoconference

  • checking the parent's government-issued ID against the government ID database

  • requiring the parent to answer a series of questions the non-parent would find difficult to answer

  • Using facial recognition technology to compare a photo ID with another photo of the parent

Lag
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For applications sold on Apple’s App Store, Apple lets me specify an age restriction, and I suppose that apple does something with that age restriction, although I have never checked what exactly. I assume ticking that box would be enough.

Anything beyond that, if it is more than just asking for the users age, is a substantial cost for a small company. Websites that really shouldn’t be viewed by anyone underage usually just have a button that says “yes, I’m 18 or over” and another that says “no, I’m not 18 yet”.

BTW Most people don’t check whether something is “suitable” for a four year old, but whether it’s “harmful”. So an introduction to Einstein’s general relativity theory will likely be available to four year olds.

gnasher729
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