Users must be at least 13 years old to use Meta's products, and users under 18 must have parental or guardian permission, though the terms rely primarily on user self-representation rather than active age verification.
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
The terms assert age restrictions for minors but rely on self-declaration rather than active verification, which is a common but increasingly scrutinized practice in the context of child safety regulations in multiple jurisdictions.
Interpretive note: The adequacy of self-declaration as the primary age verification mechanism is subject to ongoing regulatory scrutiny and may not satisfy requirements under COPPA, the UK Age Appropriate Design Code, or emerging state-level child online safety legislation.
The updated terms establish a jurisdictional change for consumers. Previously, all disputes had to be resolved in California courts; now, if you are a consumer or if your country requires it, disputes must be resolved in courts within your home country under your home country's laws. For Meta's own claims against you, the agreement still requires disputes to proceed exclusively in California courts. The revised terms also now require Meta to notify you at least 30 days in advance before making changes to these Terms, and you will have the opportunity to review them before they take effect, unless changes are required by law.
View change record →This provision prohibits users under 13 and requires parental permission for users aged 13 to 17, but enforcement relies on user-provided representations rather than technical age verification. Parents should be aware that the agreement places responsibility for compliance on users and their guardians rather than implementing mandatory technical controls.
How other platforms handle this
Our Services are not directed to children under 13. If you learn that anyone younger than 13 has unlawfully provided us with personal data, please contact us at privacy@medium.com.
The Service is intended for general audiences and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child under the age of 13 has provided us with personal information without your cons...
To access and use the Services, you must be at least the age of majority in the state, province, or territory where you live or at least 18 years of age. If you are under the age of 13, you may not use the Services and you should not be visiting the Sites or using the Services.
Monitoring
Meta has changed this document before.
Receive same-day alerts, structured change summaries, and monitoring for up to 25 platforms.
"Our Products are not directed at children. You must be at least 13 years old to use our Products. If you are under the age of 18, you must have the permission of your parent or legal guardian to use our Products. You represent that you are 13 years of age or older, that you have the legal right to enter into this Agreement, and that you have not been previously banned from using our Products.— Excerpt from Meta's Meta Terms of Service
REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: This provision implicates COPPA in the United States, which imposes specific obligations on operators of online services directed at children under 13, including verifiable parental consent requirements enforced by the FTC. The UK Age Appropriate Design Code and the EU's GDPR provisions on children's data (requiring Member State implementation of age of digital consent between 13 and 16) are also engaged for applicable jurisdictions. The DSA's child safety provisions may impose additional obligations for Meta as a very large online platform. GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: High. Reliance on self-declaration for age verification is increasingly subject to regulatory scrutiny across multiple jurisdictions. Enforcement actions regarding children's access to social media platforms have been pursued by the FTC, state attorneys general, and EU data protection authorities. The adequacy of self-declaration as an age verification mechanism is contested in ongoing regulatory and legislative processes in the U.S., UK, and EU. JURISDICTION FLAGS: The UK Age Appropriate Design Code imposes design and data minimization obligations for services likely accessed by children under 18, which may be triggered regardless of the contractual age restriction. Several U.S. states have enacted or are considering child online safety laws that may impose additional obligations. EU member states have varying ages of digital consent ranging from 13 to 16. CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Organizations deploying Meta tools in educational, healthcare, or family-facing contexts should assess whether their use cases involve minors and whether additional safeguards beyond the terms' self-declaration requirement are necessary under applicable law. COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Compliance teams should evaluate whether internal policies address the risk of minor users accessing services through Meta integrations, and whether parental consent mechanisms are required in their operating jurisdictions beyond what Meta's terms provide.
Full compliance analysis
Regulatory citations, enforcement risk, and due diligence action items.
Free: track 1 platform + weekly digest. Monitor: 25 platforms + same-day alerts. No credit card required.
Ad personalization controls removed. Contact scanning added. Advertiser data partnerships quietly dropped. A timeline of every change.
Compliance Governance Intelligence
Need to monitor specific governance provisions?
Compliance includes provision-level monitoring, governance timelines, regulatory mapping, and audit-ready analysis.
Built from archived source documents, structured governance mappings, and historical version tracking.
The terms assert age restrictions for minors but rely on self-declaration rather than active verification, which is a common but increasingly scrutinized practice in the context of child safety regulations in multiple jurisdictions.
This provision prohibits users under 13 and requires parental permission for users aged 13 to 17, but enforcement relies on user-provided representations rather than technical age verification. Parents should be aware that the agreement places responsibility for compliance on users and their guardians rather than implementing mandatory technical controls.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 4 platforms. See the full comparison.
No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Meta.