There’s a federal law called COPPA — the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act — and it’s specifically built to protect kids under 13 on the internet. The whole point is that younger kids often don’t fully understand what it means when apps and websites collect their personal information, or how that data might be used by marketers and advertisers. Congress recognized this and put real rules in place.
Here’s what COPPA actually requires: websites and apps that either target kids under 13, or that know they have users under 13, have to get verifiable parental consent before collecting that child’s personal information. Parents are supposed to be in control of what gets collected and how it gets used.
But here’s the catch — for most general-audience platforms like social media apps, that protection is triggered by knowledge. If a 10-year-old signs up for a platform by entering a fake birthday — and a parent either helps them do it or looks the other way — the platform has no reason to think it’s dealing with a child. No flag goes up. No parental consent process kicks in. The FTC’s own guidance makes clear that COPPA’s protections apply to operators who have actual knowledge they’re collecting data from a child under 13. No knowledge, no obligation.
Important exception: If a platform is clearly and specifically designed for young children — think kids’ games or learning apps — it may have COPPA obligations regardless of what age a user entered. In those cases, some protections may still apply even with a fake age. But most general social media platforms are not in this category.
So when a parent helps their kid lie to get past an age gate on a general-audience platform, they’re not just bending a rule. They’re removing the legal mechanism that was designed to keep their child’s data private. The platform isn’t legally required to treat that user as a child — because as far as the platform knows, they aren’t one.
It’s worth knowing this isn’t about shame or blame. A lot of parents don’t realize what they’re giving up when they help their kid sign up. They think they’re just letting them have fun on an app. But the trade-off is real — and it’s the kid who ends up less protected.