The 1998 Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), in a
bid to protect the privacy and safety of younger netizens,
requires that minors aged 13 or younger gain explicit parental
consent to access commercial websites. Many sites such as
Facebook and YouTube, however, have chosen to avoid any
potential conflicts with the law by banning such younger
visitors altogether, though this restriction is easily
circumvented during the registration process. To what extent is
COPPA circumvented on Facebook, and by whom — parents or
children? A 2011 study by danah boyd, Eszther Hargittai, Jason
Schultz and John Palfrey in the online journal First Monday,
“Why Parents Help Their Children Lie to Facebook About Age:
Unintended Consequences of the Children’s Online Privacy
Protection Act” (PDF), examines the online practices of 1,007
U.S. households with children. In a July 2011 survey, qualifying
parents were surveyed about the Facebook habits of their
children ages of 10 to 14, including age of initial
registration,