Developers generally cannot use Meta's APIs to collect data from children under 13, or from teens under their country's legal age of digital consent, unless they get special permission from Meta.
This analysis describes what Meta's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
This clause defines procedural requirements for data collection activities involving minors, establishing gatekeeping mechanisms through parental consent requirements and Meta's discretionary consent authority to regulate third-party data practices on the platform.
Parents and guardians of minors who use Meta platforms benefit from this restriction, as it is intended to prevent developers from collecting children's data through Meta's APIs without consent. However, enforcement depends on developers implementing adequate age-verification mechanisms.
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"You must not use Platform to collect data from people under the age of 13 without appropriate parental consent, or from people under the applicable age of digital consent in their jurisdiction, unless you have our prior written consent.— Excerpt from Meta's Meta Platform Policy
(1) REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: This provision directly engages the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act in the US, which requires verifiable parental consent before collecting personal data from children under 13. In the EU/EEA, GDPR Article 8 sets the age of digital consent at 16 (with member states permitted to lower it to 13), and the EU Digital Services Act imposes additional protections for minors on large platforms. The FTC is the primary enforcement authority for COPPA in the US. The ICO enforces the UK Children's Code. State AGs, particularly in California, may enforce state-level children's privacy laws. (2) GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: High for developers whose applications may be accessed by minors, including gaming, social, education, and entertainment apps. The obligation to obtain 'prior written consent' from Meta before collecting data from minors is operationally distinct from obtaining parental consent under COPPA, and developers must satisfy both requirements independently. (3) JURISDICTION FLAGS: EU/EEA developers face age-of-consent thresholds that vary by member state between 13 and 16. UK developers must comply with the ICO's Age Appropriate Design Code (Children's Code) independently of these terms. California developers face the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, which imposes additional design and default privacy obligations for services likely to be accessed by minors. (4) CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Developers should assess whether their application could be used by minors and implement technical age-gating or verification mechanisms accordingly. Sub-processors that handle data potentially derived from minor users should have COPPA-compliant data processing agreements. Developers should seek and document any written consent from Meta if their use case requires minor user data. (5) COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Legal teams should conduct a minor-user risk assessment for each application that accesses Meta APIs. Age-gating mechanisms should be audited for effectiveness. If a developer's application is reasonably likely to be used by minors, a COPPA compliance review should be conducted, and a written consent request submitted to Meta as required by these terms. Privacy notices should be updated to reflect any minor-user data restrictions.
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This clause defines procedural requirements for data collection activities involving minors, establishing gatekeeping mechanisms through parental consent requirements and Meta's discretionary consent authority to regulate third-party data practices on the platform.
Parents and guardians of minors who use Meta platforms benefit from this restriction, as it is intended to prevent developers from collecting children's data through Meta's APIs without consent. However, enforcement depends on developers implementing adequate age-verification mechanisms.
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