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0 pointsmidko14y ago0 comments

Knowing if someone is below or above 13 is different than knowing your exact birth date. G+ should simply confirm to that game that you are over 13 rather that give your exact details

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4 comments · 1 top-level

luriel14y ago· 3 in thread

How exactly does someone check that someone is above or below a certain age online?

The utter absurdity of such checks boggles my mind.

Also noticed them when simply accessing sites which just contain information about a game, seriously, wtf? Does anyone visiting such a site ever bother to enter their actual age/birth-date?

Sounds like the result of some extremely dumb law and management not having the guts to do the right thing and ignore it.

icebraining14y ago

How exactly does someone check that someone is above or below a certain age online?

If you don't want to allow < 13, you just need to make sure you ask and don't accept people who reply with < 13. It then becomes the kid's legal guardian responsibility to make sure the child doesn't use the service.

If you do want to accept it, you need to use IRL methods (phone call, credit card, etc).

pcwalton14y ago

"Sounds like the result of some extremely dumb law and management not having the guts to do the right thing and ignore it."

Am I reading this properly or did you suggest that Google should be above the law?

luriel14y ago

In a way Google itself has from the start been based on ignoring (certain aspects) of a dumb law: copyright.

They download/copy content from millions of sites without explicit permission.

Of course that example is more ambiguous as the definition of fair use is vague (and ever-changing), but is not all that different.

If every business followed every law in the books the economy would crawl to a halt.

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