Legal Question in Intellectual Property in New Jersey

Legal requirements for user registration on website

I'm building a 'social' web application which will be provided as free service to users but requires users to register on the site.

For the User Registration page I would like to know the 'minimum' data I need to collect from the user to meet any legal obligations.

Some website ask users for ''Date of Birth'' (and they state this is needed for legal reasons) while others don't.

Some require user to be 13+ years (some new law) while others state 18+.

It seems to vary and hence my questions. Is there a standard or recommended best practice that meets legal requirements?


Asked on 11/07/06, 10:11 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

Daniel Pepper Pepper Law Group, LLC

Re: Legal requirements for user registration on website

The answers depend upon the nature and content of the web application you're building.

The new law to which you seem to refer is The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, effective April 21, 2000, and it applies to the online collection of personal information from children under 13. The new rules spell out what a Web site operator must include in a privacy policy, when and how to seek verifiable consent from a parent and what responsibilities an operator has to protect children's privacy and safety online.

Furthermore, if your website will contain any adult-oriented material, visitors should be over 18 years of age, and not only your terms of use, but the very entry into your website, should prevent minors from entering the website.

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Answered on 11/07/06, 10:28 am
Gary Adelman Adelman Matz, P.C.

Re: Legal requirements for user registration on website

All of your questions depend on what your "Social" Web application will be doing. What appears on your web site is governed by a variety of laws and we cannot answer your question without knowing how your web site is going to function, what content will appear on the web site and how your web site will be accessed to start.

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Answered on 11/08/06, 6:24 pm


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