User blog comment:Wintermelon43/So, we already have coppa...../@comment-24491155-20141012163623/@comment-5558012-20141012231816

COPPA assumes that those under 13 don't have a developed understanding of the dangers of willy-nilly posing information about themselves online that could potential hurt their livelihood in the future. In part this is true. Many children are immature and make decisions unknowingly to their harm. Learning from your mistakes offline is a good principle but not so much online. You post something online it doesn't disappear. Regardless, you can speak whatever you want as someone under 13 but not in certain locations such as online sites that collect information (even if COPPA didn't exist, if a sites TOC said you have to be 13 or older you still have to follow the terms to use the service). It's been established in court that freedom of speech can be limited only to certain areas in certain circumstances.