OpenAI's services are not allowed for children under 13, and the company will delete data from users under 13 if discovered — but there is no active age verification mechanism described.
Children under 13 are prohibited from using OpenAI services, but the policy relies on self-reporting rather than active verification, meaning minors' data may be collected before any remedial deletion occurs.
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Compare across platforms →The absence of described active age verification means children under 13 may be using ChatGPT and having their conversations collected and potentially used for training, creating COPPA liability for OpenAI and risks for minors.
REGULATORY FRAMEWORK: COPPA (15 U.S.C. §6501 et seq.; 16 C.F.R. Part 312) requires verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from children under 13, enforced by the FTC. The FTC's 2013 COPPA Rule amendments expanded the definition of personal information to include persistent identifiers, geolocation, photos, and audio. State laws including California's Age-Appropriate Design Code (AB 2273) impose additional obligations for services likely to be accessed by minors under 18.
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