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The policy states that Whatnot's services are not directed to children under 13 and that Whatnot does not knowingly collect personal information from that age group, with a commitment to delete such data if discovered.
This analysis describes what Whatnot'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 directly implicates the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which requires verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from children under 13; the policy's commitment not to knowingly collect such data is the standard COPPA safe harbor formulation, but operational enforcement of age screening is a separate compliance question.
The updated Influencer Engagement Agreement now requires all disputes between influencers and Whatnot to be resolved through binding arbitration under the Terms of Service Section 21, rather than through California state or federal courts. This replaces the previous language permitting influencers to pursue legal claims in Los Angeles courts and waives jury trial rights. The agreement also removes language that explicitly limited dispute resolution to claims arising solely from the Influencer Agreement, extending arbitration to disputes relating to Whatnot Platform use and the influencer-platform relationship.
View change record →The new Australian Creator Program Terms establish binding legal requirements for creators submitting video content and promotional codes. Creators grant Whatnot a non-exclusive, worldwide, irrevocable license to use submitted videos across platforms (organic and paid social media, television, in-app, websites, and more) for one year from submission. The terms require creators to comply with Australian Consumer Law, AANA ethical standards, and AiMCO guidelines, with explicit disclosure requirements when promoting Whatnot or affiliated products. Rewards for approved Shopping Hauls submissions are issued within 30 business days of receiving both ad codes and raw video. You can review the specific disclosure and content standards on the Program Page before submitting content.
View change record →Under the updated agreement, Australian sellers can no longer resolve disputes through court proceedings in Los Angeles. Instead, all disputes related to the Whatnot platform or the seller relationship must be resolved through mandatory individual arbitration under Whatnot's main Terms of Service. The updated terms eliminate the jury trial waiver provision and replace court access with binding arbitration, with limited exceptions only as expressly permitted in the main Terms of Service.
View change record →Under this provision, the platform asserts it does not knowingly collect personal information from users under 13 and will delete such data if identified. The Terms of Service additionally address teen users aged 13 to 17, permitting their access only through a parent or guardian's account under supervision.
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"Our Services are not directed to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, we will take steps to delete such information.Excerpt from Whatnot's Legal Terms
1. REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: COPPA, enforced by the FTC, requires verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from children under 13 and imposes specific notice and deletion obligations. The FTC has taken enforcement action against platforms that insufficiently screen for child users. GDPR Article 8 sets the digital age of consent at 16 (with member state variation down to 13), and platforms directed at users in the EU must implement age-appropriate design measures under the UK Age Appropriate Design Code (Children's Code) for services likely to be accessed by under-18s. 2. GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: Medium. The policy relies on a 'not knowingly' formulation, which is the standard COPPA approach but does not describe the specific age verification or screening mechanisms in place. If Whatnot's platform is accessible to minors in practice through the permitted teen account mechanism, the adequacy of parental supervision controls and data handling for that cohort may warrant evaluation. 3. JURISDICTION FLAGS: United States (COPPA enforcement by FTC), UK (Age Appropriate Design Code, enforced by ICO), EU (GDPR Article 8 age of consent and data protection by design for minors). The permitted teen user cohort (13-17 using a parent's account) creates a distinct data handling question regarding what data is collected under the parent's account vs. the minor's activities. 4. CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Third-party advertising and analytics partners receiving data from the platform should be contractually restricted from profiling users identified or suspected to be minors. Advertising partner agreements should include representations regarding child-directed advertising restrictions. 5. COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Compliance teams should evaluate the operational effectiveness of age screening mechanisms, particularly for the teen user cohort permitted under the Terms of Service. COPPA compliance documentation should confirm that no personal information is collected from under-13 users without verified parental consent. UK Children's Code compliance should be assessed if the platform is likely to be accessed by UK users under 18.
This provision directly implicates the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which requires verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from children under 13; the policy's commitment not to knowingly collect such data is the standard COPPA safe harbor formulation, but operational enforcement of age screening is a separate compliance question.
Under this provision, the platform asserts it does not knowingly collect personal information from users under 13 and will delete such data if identified. The Terms of Service additionally address teen users aged 13 to 17, permitting their access only through a parent or guardian's account under supervision.
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