Decide whether an online service must keep children under 13 from an account without parental consent
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- State whether the service is directed to children under 13 or the operator has actual knowledge it is collecting personal information from a child. List the notice, the verifiable parental consent, and any account that would be opened without that consent.
- What the lawyer must review
- The federal rule is the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, and it applies to children under 13, not to a national under-16 account ban. The FTC staff FAQ says the Rule protects children under 13 because Congress drew the line there, and that it applies to operators of commercial websites and online services directed to children under 13 that collect personal information, and to general-audience services with actual knowledge that they are collecting personal information from children under 13. 15 U.S.C. § 6502 makes it unlawful for those operators to collect personal information from a child in violation of the regulations, which must require notice of what is collected, how it is used, and the operator's disclosure practices, and verifiable parental consent before collection, use, or disclosure. The FAQ also requires the operator to retain a child's information only as long as necessary for the purpose and to delete it using reasonable measures.
- Written for / version
- United States versionUS
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Consider narrowly defined preparation support after confirming the tool’s capability and permitted scope. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Confirm that the actual tool, feature and processing terms permit use of this information, including access, retention, training and disclosure conditions.
- Verify the applicable jurisdiction and the version of each relevant law, rule or instrument in force at the material time.
- Confirm the output against the client’s instructions and the complete relevant source material, including omissions or contradictions.
- Resolve exceptions and record the responsible lawyer’s approval of the exact output and intended use.