Children under 13 cannot have a Microsoft account unless a parent or guardian creates and manages the account using Microsoft Family Safety features.
This analysis describes what Microsoft'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 provision operationalizes Microsoft's compliance with COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) and establishes the institutional framework for age-gated account access. It defines the conditions under which the service may be offered to minors and establishes parental mediation as the mechanism for accounts held by children under the statutory threshold.
Children under 13 using Microsoft services without a properly configured Family Safety account are at risk of having personal data collected without the parental consent required by U.S. law, exposing both the child and any institutional operator to COPPA liability.
How other platforms handle this
The Netflix service and any content accessed through it are for your personal, non-commercial use only and may not be shared with anyone outside of your household, unless, in countries where this feature is available, you purchased an Extra Member Account.
The Meta Products are not directed to children. Access to or use of Meta Products by anyone under the age of 13 is not allowed. If you are based in the EU, you must be at least 16 years old, or the minimum age in your country if it is higher than 16, to use or access Meta Products, unless your count...
The Services are provided to individuals for their personal, noncommercial use only. Companies, commercial establishments, associations and other groups may not purchase or use the Services.
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"Microsoft accounts can be created by adults or with parental consent for children. A Microsoft account may not be created for, or used by, a child under 13, unless the account was set up by a parent or guardian using Microsoft Family Safety features for the child's use.— Excerpt from Microsoft's Microsoft Services Agreement (Legacy)
REGULATORY FRAMEWORK: This provision directly engages COPPA (15 U.S.C. §§6501–6506) and its implementing regulations at 16 CFR Part 312, which require verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from children under 13. The FTC is the primary enforcement authority. For EU users, GDPR Art. 8 sets the digital consent age at 16 (with member state derogation to 13), and the Irish DPC's guidance on children's data privacy (2021) creates additional obligations. The UK Age Appropriate Design Code (Children's Code) imposes heightened design and data minimization requirements for services accessible to under-18 users.
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This provision operationalizes Microsoft's compliance with COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) and establishes the institutional framework for age-gated account access. It defines the conditions under which the service may be offered to minors and establishes parental mediation as the mechanism for accounts held by children under the statutory threshold.
Children under 13 using Microsoft services without a properly configured Family Safety account are at risk of having personal data collected without the parental consent required by U.S. law, exposing both the child and any institutional operator to COPPA liability.
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