Children's Privacy and Age Restriction

What it is

Poshmark states it does not intentionally collect data from children under 13 and will delete such data if discovered, which reflects the baseline requirement under federal law for online services.

Why it matters (compliance & governance perspective)

This provision establishes Poshmark's compliance posture under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, but does not address the growing regulatory trend toward higher age thresholds or enhanced protections for users between 13 and 17.

This document changed recently

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

Children under 13 are not permitted to use Poshmark, and the company states it will delete data collected from them if discovered, but the policy does not describe specific age verification mechanisms or enhanced protections for teenage users between 13 and 17.

Institutional analysis (Compliance & governance intelligence)

REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: This provision reflects obligations under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, enforced by the FTC, which prohibits knowingly collecting personal information from children under 13 without verifiable parental consent. The FTC has actively enforced COPPA against consumer platforms, and the adequacy of Poshmark's age verification mechanisms is a relevant compliance question. California's Age-Appropriate Design Code, effective in California, imposes additional obligations for services likely to be accessed by users under 18, which may apply to a fashion resale platform with broad appeal to teenagers. GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: Medium. The policy's reliance on a 'knowingly' standard for COPPA compliance, without disclosing specific age verification mechanisms, is a common industry approach but may face heightened scrutiny given the FTC's recent enforcement posture and California's AADC requirements. The absence of any specific protections for users aged 13 to 17 is a notable gap given the demographic profile of fashion resale platform users. JURISDICTION FLAGS: California's Age-Appropriate Design Code creates significant additional obligations for platforms likely accessed by minors under 18, including default privacy settings, data minimization, and prohibitions on practices that may harm children. Other states are enacting or considering similar legislation. The FTC holds national enforcement authority over COPPA. CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Vendors who receive personal data from Poshmark should be contractually restricted from processing data that may originate from minors, including through data processing agreements that address COPPA and AADC obligations. Advertising technology vendors should be assessed for compliance with restrictions on targeted advertising to minors. COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Poshmark should document its age verification processes and assess whether those processes are adequate under COPPA's reasonableness standard. A review of the platform's compliance with California's Age-Appropriate Design Code should be conducted, including an assessment of whether Poshmark is likely to be accessed by users under 18 and what design and data practices obligations follow from that assessment.

Applicable agencies

Applicable regulations

Provision details

Other risks in this policy

• Business Partner Data Sharing for Marketing high
• Public Content Exclusion from Deletion Rights medium
• California Data Sale and Sharing Opt-Out medium
• Cookies and Cross-Context Behavioral Advertising medium
• Data Collection Scope and Categories medium
• User-Generated Content Public Visibility medium