You must be at least 13 to use Facebook, and if you are under 18, a parent or guardian must agree to the terms on your behalf.
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 set a minimum age of 13 and require parental consent for minors, but the agreement does not describe technical age verification mechanisms, which may limit practical enforcement and create exposure under COPPA.
Interpretive note: The terms state age requirements but do not describe verification mechanisms; the practical enforceability and regulatory adequacy of this provision depend on Meta's operational practices, which are not detailed in the terms themselves.
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, dispute…
Minors under 13 are not permitted to use Facebook under these terms, and those aged 13 to 17 require parental consent, but parents should be aware that the terms do not describe robust verification mechanisms and the same broad content license and advertising use provisions apply to minor users who do have accounts.
How other platforms handle this
To be eligible to use the Venmo services, you must be a resident of the United States and at least 18 years of age. By accepting these terms, you represent and warrant that you meet the eligibility requirements. If you do not meet these requirements, you may not use the Venmo services.
You may not use Runway's tools to create content that promotes, glorifies, or facilitates acts of terrorism, mass violence, or genocide, or that could be used to provide material support to individuals or organizations engaged in such activities.
Customer will not, and will not permit any other person (including any End User) to: ... (d) attempt to reverse engineer, decompile, or otherwise attempt to discover the source code or underlying components (e.g., algorithms, weights, or systems) of the Mistral AI Products, including using the Outpu...
Monitoring
Meta has changed this document before.
Receive same-day alerts, structured change summaries, and monitoring for up to 10 platforms.
"Our Products are not directed to children. You must be at least 13 years old to use our Products. If you are under 18, you must have your parent or legal guardian's permission to use our Products and they must read and agree to these Terms on your behalf.— Excerpt from Meta's Meta Terms of Service
REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: This provision directly engages COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act), which applies to online services directed at children under 13 or with actual knowledge of users under 13, and is enforced by the FTC. The EU's GDPR and the age-appropriate design requirements under the UK Children's Code (UK Age Appropriate Design Code) impose additional obligations for users under 18 in those jurisdictions. The California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act imposes design and data minimization obligations for services used by minors under 18 in California. Meta has faced significant regulatory scrutiny and enforcement actions related to its handling of minor users across multiple jurisdictions. GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: High. The gap between the stated minimum age of 13 and the absence of described age verification mechanisms creates significant COPPA and state law exposure. Regulators in the EU, UK, and US have prioritized child online safety as an enforcement area, and the application of the broad content license and advertising use provisions to minor users aged 13 to 17 may require evaluation under applicable child protection frameworks. JURISDICTION FLAGS: EU member states implementing the GDPR Age Verification and the UK Children's Code impose stricter requirements than COPPA for minors under 18. California's Age-Appropriate Design Code Act requires data protection impact assessments for products likely to be accessed by minors under 18. Illinois' BIPA may apply where biometric data of minors is collected through platform features. CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Organizations that integrate Meta's platforms, authentication services, or advertising tools into their own products serving minors should conduct due diligence on whether Meta's age restriction and parental consent mechanisms satisfy applicable law in their jurisdictions. Vendor assessments should include Meta's documented age verification practices rather than relying solely on the terms assertion. COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Parents and guardians should review whether adequate parental consent mechanisms are presented during account creation for users under 18. Compliance teams at organizations operating in the children's digital services space should assess whether their Meta integrations create downstream COPPA obligations. Regulatory monitoring for COPPA enforcement trends involving social media platforms should inform ongoing risk assessment.
Full compliance analysis
Regulatory citations, enforcement risk, and due diligence action items.
Free: track 1 platform + weekly digest. Watcher: 10 platforms + same-day alerts. No credit card required.
Professional Governance Intelligence
Need to monitor specific governance provisions?
Professional 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 set a minimum age of 13 and require parental consent for minors, but the agreement does not describe technical age verification mechanisms, which may limit practical enforcement and create exposure under COPPA.
Minors under 13 are not permitted to use Facebook under these terms, and those aged 13 to 17 require parental consent, but parents should be aware that the terms do not describe robust verification mechanisms and the same broad content license and advertising use provisions apply to minor users who do have accounts.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 1 platforms. See the full comparison.
No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Meta.