[derefr]

> the reason for the "are you 13 years or older" checkbox question

I thought all the age-of-13 stuff, specifically, was because you can't legally enter yourself into a contract when you're younger than 13. Which is to say, you can't accept EULAs or Terms of Service (or you can, but they'll have no legal force.)

[Buge]

It's COPPA. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%27s_Online_Privacy_Pr...

Some people even consider COPPA to be a form of censorship. It creates such a huge legal burden on websites if they allow < 13 year olds, that most websites have to ban them, thus limiting their right to speech.

[mikeash]

Obviously it depends on the jurisdiction, but typically minors cannot enter legally binding contracts. Some form of source:

http://www.lawchek.com/Library1/_books/contract/qanda/legala...

One interesting feature I wasn't aware of is that this does not generally apply to "necessities" or employment contracts.