Facebook prohibits high school dropouts from using their service

Have you ever read Facebook's Terms of Use and Privacy Policies? Let me rephrase that: Have you ever read any website's Terms of Use or Privacy Policies? I'm guessing probably not, even though each time you visit any website, you are tacitly agreeing to whatever they contain. So... whether you realize it or not, by surfing the web you are entering into contract after contract with each click of the mouse. Crazy, huh.

Since I get to draft Terms of Use statements on a fairly regular basis, I do read them from time to time. While poking through Facebook's Terms of Use earlier today I noticed the following:

"[Facebook] is intended solely for users who are 13 years of age or older, and users of the Site under 18 who are currently in high school or college. Any registration by, use of, or access to [Facebook] by anyone under 13, or by anyone who is under 18 and not in high school or college, is unauthorized, unlicensed and in violation of these Terms of Use." 

In other words, if you're under 18 and not in high school or college, NO FACEBOOK FOR YOU. Hmm... maybe this could be the genesis of a new "stay in school" campaign: Stay in school... or lose all your 'friends.' 

Am I on to something here?

Comments

[Ben R]

Whew! It's a good thing I grabbed those final PE credits in 1997 ... how my world would have changed otherwise!

[Kristen]

Interesting discovery:) I just keep thinking how much I would have LOVED Facebook as a younger college co-ed. But, it's still pretty fun and addicting as a married person with 3 kids.