Underage commentors?
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Hello!
As I understand the terms of service of wordpress.com, the minimum age to use any of the “services” provided, as a visitor or blog owner, is 13 or 16 in Europe.
I recently got a comment on one of my blog posts by what seems to be an underage visitor to my blog (just judging by their wordings), which is to be approved or declined before it goes up on the blog.
Their comment is really sweet but contains “their” full name and I am unsure how to handle it. I have no clue if the person who wrote it did it on behalf of an underage person and the name is of the adult, so I guess I’m just wondering what responsibility I would have as a blog owner on wordpress.com in regards to this with little to go on.
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We really can’t give legal advice, but just common sence tells me to at least remove their full name. Personally I would remove that comment.
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Hi there,
As mentioned, we can’t provide any legal advice to how you operate your site. We do see that you noted that there isn’t a clear indication that this commenter is any specific age. Legal obligations as the site owner may vary depending on whether your site is directed at children (see FTC Guidance), whether you have actual knowledge that the commenter is a certain age, and what, if any, data you collect. Your location and that of the commenter may also impact what laws apply.
If you’re concerned about the comment, you may wish to remove it in its entirety or potentially remove any identifying information. As a site admin you do have the ability to edit the comment to remove any sensitive info but leave the rest.
Hope that helps. Please let us know if you have any more questions.
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It’s your site. Do what you think is right. However, I suggest removing the comment if you’re really concerned. I once had a 12-year-old kid begging for money through my “website feedback” section. I just removed the comments and continued about my day.
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