[csmt]

This is absurd. Instead of not collecting data for children Google is blocking access to children. I am seriously looking for alternatives to Gmail. Any suggestions? I don't want my email account hooked up to a social network and advertising machinery.

[speleding]

This has been covered on HN before, the solution is pretty simple: just use a (free) Google Apps account instead and create accounts for your children. You will be responsible for complying with COPPA yourself instead of Google.

All you need is a domain name, but it's a good idea to have that anyways in case you ever want to leave. I use this solution with my kids and it works great because it also allows me to control access to certain services and reset passwords for them, etc.

[eli]

It's a bit more complex than that. In order to comply, Google would need to verify that you are a parent/guardian and that you are giving permission for your child to join. Faxing of identity documents would likely be involved.

Google's approach is heavy handed, but it's a really bad law.

[mpclark]

What we need is for big, well funded companies to somehow use their influence to get bad laws changed...

[fpgeek]

But the only thing in politics more powerful than corporate money is "For the children!!!"...

[greyfade]

That, and "or the terrorists win!"

[rickmb]

This may be a bit out there, but how about paying for email services?

[danilocampos]

It seems like a very straightforward solution to me.

If an account is created for a person under-age, suspend ad service to that account (end data collection) and require a nominal fee to activate it (which provides abundant evidence of parental consent). Cutting off the next generation from email does not seem like the answer. Would a Montessori-educated, eight-year-old Sergey Brin have appreciated such treatment?

Since that won't happen, I mean, when we have kids I guess we just have to pay for hosting and administer their email ourselves?

[rmrm]

knowing the childs email address in and of itself appears to be data collection in regards to COPPA.

http://business.ftc.gov/documents/bus45-how-comply-childrens...

[bmj]

Which means it would be impossible to provide an email service to a child, right, short of self-hosting?

[rmrm]

I don't think so, its just that you'd have to obtain parental consent 100% of the time. Data gathering is baked into providing an email service, that part of COPPA seems logical enough to me. The issue of targeted ads vs untargeted ads vs no ads doesn't appear to have anything to do with anything, other than what you'd notify the parents you are doing, and what you are asking their consent of.

[learc83]

So then everyone who doesn't want data collection or ads, but wants to use google just applies for an under 13 account.

Google products are free, they make money on data collection/advertisements. People who they can't advertise to aren't profitable, and it's unlikely a nominal fee would make up for all the overhead. The user is their product not their customer.

[danilocampos]

So you limit it to 500 MB of storage and show blanket Club Penguin ads instead of targeted ones. Whatever. It's a completely solvable problem. And it's fine if Google doesn't want to solve it. They should just let their ad agency know.

[learc83]

>show blanket Club Penguin ads

OK I concede that one, and it made me laugh.

[xer0]

Get your own domain and point your email at fastmail.fm.

[okoni]

It's not absurd when you know that collecting data and google are two sides of the same coin.

Want your email free, just do it the internet way: host your own.

[madao]

Its very easy, simply jump onto Amazon's ec2 free instance and setup a webserver/webmail vm

it will cost you very little and you will not have to deal with crap like that, alternatively you can have a chat to your friendly domain hosting company, I am sure they will have something that will fit your needs.

[ww520]

But since Google can't collect data to target ad to the children, Google doesn't make any money from them. Google don't need children that can't pay money. Case closed.