united-states contract-law licensing terms-of-service minor
How can a license agreement or terms of use be enforced on a minor?
<p>Since a license agreement/terms of use document is a contract between the publisher and the end-user, and since minors are prohibited from entering into legally binding contracts in most U.S. states, how can any sort of terms be legally enforceable?</p>

<p>The inability to agree to license terms has all kinds of potential legal ramifications.  For example...</p>

<ul>
<li>App store agreements from Apple, Google, Amazon, etc. specify that parents are responsible for the in-app purchases of their children.  Can parents be held liable if their child creates their own account without their parents' consent?</li>
<li>Can a company seek damages arising from an activity where such an activity is otherwise legal, but prohibited by the license (e.g. video game modding or publishing cheat software)?</li>
<li>Can a parent seek damages against a company for using data that was obtained under a waiver of rights by a license agreement (e.g. children uploading content to social media sites that would otherwise be protected by other laws)?</li>
</ul>

<p>Also, would the story change at all if the person in question were of legal age, but legally incompetent?</p>

<p><strong>Business question</strong></p>

<p>Since a license agreement/terms of use document is a contract between the publisher and the end-user, and since minors are prohibited from entering into legally binding contracts in most U.S. states, how can any sort of terms be legally enforceable?</p>

<p><strong>Legal question</strong></p>

<p>May an online publisher enforce its product license agreement/terms of use against a minor ? </p>

<p><strong>Answer</strong></p>

<p>Yes, an online publisher can enforce its product license agreement/TOU against a minor until such time the minor voids the agreement.</p>

<p><strong>Discussion</strong></p>

<ol>
<li><p>The opinion of the court in C.M.D. v. Facebook 2014 WL 1266291 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 26, 2014), Inc. discusses  this very legal question and clarified that terms of service of Facebook are enforceable against minors who use  websites and further suggests that to disaffirm such terms of service, minors likely must terminate their accounts and stop using the website.</p></li>
<li><p>The key question in front of the  Judge in this case was whether the contract at issue between minors and Facebook - was one of the narrow types of contracts with minors that were void, or if the contract was merely voidable under California Family Code 6701. The court rules in favor of Facebook. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>First, minors are <em>not</em> prohibited from entering contracts in the USA. However, any such contracts can be <em>voided</em> either by the minor, or by their guardian. A voidable contract is valid and enforceable until the point where it is voided. </p>

<p>License agreements are usually not contracts. They give the licensee permission to use a copyrighted work and make copies in certain ways; without the license making copies is only allowed as far as copyright law on its own gives you the right (which is usually not at all). </p>

<p>I checked Apple's App Store terms and conditions. It doesn't say "parents are responsible for in-app purchases of their children", it says that children can't enter into a contract with Apple, only their parents can. </p>
