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What parental consent can—and cannot—do
COPPA is a federal privacy law, not an account-eligibility law. Its purpose is to regulate operators of websites and online services directed to children or that knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. The statute states: “The term ‘child’ means an individual under the age of 13.”
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For a covered service, the operator generally must obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting, using, or disclosing a child’s personal information. The consent must follow a method reasonably designed to ensure that the person authorizing the practices is the parent, after receiving notice of what information the operator plans to collect and how it will be used or disclosed.
That legal permission addresses data practices. It does not require a private company to create an account, keep an account open, or disregard a minimum-age term. A service can set a higher age threshold, and a state can impose its own prohibition or parental-consent requirement even when COPPA would allow the data collection with a parent’s consent.
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How the legal layers fit together
Whether a child may use a particular social platform depends on several separate questions. Treating them as one “parental permission” issue is the source of most confusion.
| Question | What it controls | Typical decision point |
|---|---|---|
| How old is the child? | Whether COPPA’s under-13 rules apply and whether a state statute uses a different age band. | Under 13, 13–15, or another age category written into state law. |
| Where does the child live? | State restrictions, consent duties, age-verification rules, and the effect of injunctions or appellate decisions. | The child’s state of residence, not merely where the parent is located. |
| What service is involved? | The platform’s contract, minimum-age term, privacy practices, and any definition of “covered” service in state law. | The specific social platform, website, app, or app-store transaction. |
| What does the rule regulate? | COPPA regulates collection, use, and disclosure of children’s personal information; other laws may regulate account access or downloads. | Data permission is not the same as permission to hold an account. |
| How must permission be verified? | The operator’s COPPA-compliant parental-consent method or a state-required age and consent check. | An app-store password alone may not be enough under FTC guidance. |
| Is a court order changing the rule? | Litigation can suspend, restore, or limit enforcement. | Check the latest appellate decision, injunction, and effective date. |
What COPPA actually requires for a child under 13
The under-13 threshold
COPPA’s statutory definition is “under the age of 13.” A child who has turned 13 is outside that federal definition, although a platform or state law may still impose a higher age or a consent requirement for older minors.
Notice before collection
Before collecting information, a covered operator must give the parent notice of its information practices. The notice is meant to explain what information is collected, how it will be used, and whether it will be disclosed.
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The parent must authorize the collection, use, and disclosure before those activities occur. The FTC warns that simply entering an app-store account number or password does not necessarily provide sufficient assurance that the person entering it is the parent. A service must use a method reasonably calculated to verify parental identity or authority under the applicable COPPA requirements.
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Changes taking effect after the 2025 amendments
The 2025 COPPA amendments added protections concerning certain internal disclosures, retention of children’s information, and monetization of that information. The Federal Register gave regulated entities until April 22, 2026 to comply. These amendments strengthen privacy obligations; they do not create a general right for a child to open a social-media account.
Why parental permission does not override a platform’s age rule
A social platform is a private service. Its terms can say that users below a specified age may not create or maintain accounts, even if a parent is willing to consent to data collection. A parent who creates the account, enters the child’s birth date incorrectly, or supplies the parent’s credentials does not automatically make the account lawful under the platform’s contract or under state law.
If the platform’s current terms set a minimum age above the child’s age, parental permission ordinarily cannot compel the platform to accept the account. The service may reject registration, restrict features, suspend the account, or request age verification. Whether the company is complying with COPPA is a separate question from whether it is honoring its own eligibility rule.
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State laws can be stricter than COPPA
State social-media laws are not uniform. They may regulate account access directly, require parental consent at an age above 13, require age verification through an app store, or define “covered” services differently. Court decisions can also change whether a law is enforceable.
Florida
Florida’s law bans social-media accounts for children under 14 and requires parental consent for users who are 14 or 15. The Associated Press reported that the restrictions were in force after an appellate ruling in October 2026. A parent’s COPPA consent cannot authorize an account that the state law bans.
Ohio
Ohio’s law requires parental consent for covered social-media use by people under 16. The Associated Press reported that a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit restored the restrictions in June 2026. Because litigation can continue, parents should confirm the current order and the statute’s operative scope before relying on an earlier summary.
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Texas’s app-store law requires age verification and parental consent for minors downloading apps or making in-app purchases. The Supreme Court declined to block enforcement while the litigation continued. This is an app-store and transaction-focused requirement; it should not be described as a nationwide rule or assumed to be identical to a direct social-platform account ban.
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The broader state picture
The Congressional Research Service describes state social-media regulation as an active patchwork of enactments and litigation. A rule can differ by age, service definition, verification method, and the status of an injunction or appeal. A parent in one state should not assume that a permission process—or a court ruling—from another state applies at home.
Practical answers for common family situations
“Can I let my 12-year-old make an account?”
Only after separating the questions. For a covered service, you may be able to give COPPA-compliant verifiable consent to the collection and use of information from a child under 13. That does not make the account permissible if the platform’s terms set a higher minimum age, and it does not defeat a state prohibition. If the service does not accept under-13 users, your consent does not force it to do so.
“Does parental consent get around the age limit?”
Usually no. Consent can satisfy a privacy-law requirement when the operator accepts that process, but it does not override a private contract or an independent state restriction. The answer depends on which age limit you mean: COPPA’s under-13 data threshold, the platform’s minimum age, or a state statute.
“Is it legal if I create the account for my child?”
Creating the account yourself does not change the child’s age or residence. If the account is operated for a child below the platform’s minimum age or in violation of a state law, entering your own information will not cure that problem. It can also create inaccurate records that interfere with later verification or an appeal.
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“What about a 14- or 15-year-old?”
These teens are outside COPPA’s under-13 definition, but state law can still require parental consent. In Florida, users aged 14 or 15 are subject to a parental-consent requirement; in Ohio, covered social-media use under 16 requires consent under the rule restored in June 2026, subject to the ongoing litigation posture. The platform’s own terms remain a separate check.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A parent’s legality checklist
- Confirm the child’s exact age. Note the date the child turns 13, 14, 16, or another threshold used by the applicable law.
- Identify the child’s state of residence. Look for the state statute, implementing rule, and any current injunction or appellate order. Do not substitute the parent’s state or the platform’s headquarters.
- Read the platform’s current age terms. Check the minimum age, whether parental accounts are allowed, and whether the service offers a formal parental-consent route.
- Identify what is being authorized. Determine whether the screen concerns collection and use of personal information, account creation, app downloading, or an in-app purchase. Those can trigger different rules.
- Complete the stated verification method. Follow the operator’s approved process. Do not assume that an app-store account number or password alone proves parental identity.
- Save the notice and confirmation. Keep the privacy notice, consent confirmation, and date of authorization so you can show what you agreed to if the service later asks for verification.
- Recheck after legal changes. Court orders, effective dates, and platform terms can change. Revisit the rule before creating an account or allowing continued use after a major ruling.
Common mistakes and what to do instead
- Mistake: treating COPPA as an age-of-access law. Better approach: use COPPA only to answer the data-collection question, then separately check account terms and state law.
- Mistake: assuming one state’s rule applies everywhere. Better approach: anchor the analysis to the child’s residence and the current court posture in that state.
- Mistake: using a parent’s credentials as the entire consent process. Better approach: complete the platform’s stated verifiable-consent procedure; FTC guidance cautions that an app-store password alone may be insufficient.
- Mistake: relying on an old article or a pre-lawsuit summary. Better approach: check the latest statute, platform terms, and court order, especially for Florida, Ohio, and Texas.
- Mistake: assuming a privacy consent screen guarantees account eligibility. Better approach: confirm that the service expressly permits the child’s age group.
Age verification is not a nationwide permission rule
The FTC’s February 2026 age-verification policy statement describes an enforcement-policy position for certain operators that collect information solely to determine age, provided specified conditions are met. That position concerns limited age-check data practices. It does not turn parental consent into a nationwide license for a child to use every social platform, and it does not erase a platform’s minimum age or a state’s account restriction.
When to obtain state-specific legal advice
General information cannot resolve every question about a particular service, statute, or court order. Consult a lawyer licensed in the relevant state if the account is disputed, the child’s access could trigger a legal complaint, the platform has demanded formal proof of authority, or a current injunction or appeal makes enforcement uncertain. Bring the child’s age, state of residence, platform name, relevant terms, and any notice or verification request to that consultation.
Bottom line
Parents can consent under COPPA to covered data collection from a child under 13, using a verifiable process. That consent does not itself legalize a social-media account. Account eligibility still depends on the platform’s minimum-age terms, the child’s state law, the type of app-store or account activity involved, and the latest court orders. Check all four before allowing the account, and treat Florida, Ohio, and Texas developments as state-specific rules rather than a single national standard.
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