Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Google Adsense/Admob blocks you for life if you use it before you're 18

support.google.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

171–180 of 290 posts

Re: Google Adsense/Admob blocks you for life if you use it before you're 18

#171

Post by lamontcg »

stjohnswarts wrote: post #157
Shank wrote: post #15

As someone who operated on the "adult internet" with payment processors and related infrastructure without being 18, I still carry forward the constant fear that I'll be banned for retroactive Terms of Service violations incurred when I was a kid. It really sucks when it's services like AdSense because you're just screwed forever. I really really wish the internet was more supportive of "early hackers" who want to ex…

The idea that they don't have a timeout feature rather than a "banned for life" antifeature explains all you need to know about these megacorps that are mostly the only game in town for what they do. This is why Congress (and other equivalents) need to kick them in the balls every so often to let them know who is actually in charge.

Congress is working for them.

Re: Google Adsense/Admob blocks you for life if you use it before you're 18

#172

Post by stjohnswarts »

pb7 wrote: post #114
ceejayoz wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And yet Google can't come knock on your door and take you away. Not directly ... https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/08/googles-scans-private-... Plenty of dystopian fiction involves corporations legally not allowed to do something and still doing it, because they're functionally immune to consequences. There are also degrees of dystopian between "murder corp" and Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. You might have an overly na…

Thank you for proving my point: the government did that.

If the government is at the behest to the corporation's decrees then it's just a proxy and the end result is the same.

Re: Google Adsense/Admob blocks you for life if you use it before you're 18

#173

Post by judge2020 »

Shank wrote: post #15

As someone who operated on the "adult internet" with payment processors and related infrastructure without being 18, I still carry forward the constant fear that I'll be banned for retroactive Terms of Service violations incurred when I was a kid. It really sucks when it's services like AdSense because you're just screwed forever. I really really wish the internet was more supportive of "early hackers" who want to ex…

I'm in the opposite boat: I told paypal I was under 18 when I was under 18, called them, they kept my account locked, but as soon as I turned 18 I was unblocked and could used my original account. And I made the account when I was 11.

Re: Google Adsense/Admob blocks you for life if you use it before you're 18

#174

Post by f1shy »

ars wrote: post #49
Shank wrote: post #15

As someone who operated on the "adult internet" with payment processors and related infrastructure without being 18, I still carry forward the constant fear that I'll be banned for retroactive Terms of Service violations incurred when I was a kid. It really sucks when it's services like AdSense because you're just screwed forever. I really really wish the internet was more supportive of "early hackers" who want to ex…

The escape hatch is the parent opening the account in their own name. Companies don't have a choice here: Someone under 18 can not enter into a contract, there's nothing really they can do.

Do you know for sure it is absolutely impossible? I know at least 3 countries where you can get a permission from your parents being 16, 14, or even 12.

I know that, because I was 16 when we did the procedure to allow me be adult (have all the rights of being 21, except vote and consume alcohol)

Re: Google Adsense/Admob blocks you for life if you use it before you're 18

#175

Post by njsubedi »

logicalmonster wrote: post #165

Is it uncharitable to say that Google has intentionally stolen millions of dollars from kids? They seem to have engineered a set of rules where they work around having to ever pay a bunch of people for content that was produced and had ads displayed on it. Maybe the kids can't legally sign a contract, but Google still made money from them. Has Google forfeited this money or are they profiting off of child labor?

AFAIK all the incomes from invalid traffic are refunded to the advertisers. That might also be the procedure in case of invalid accounts.

Re: Google Adsense/Admob blocks you for life if you use it before you're 18

#177

Post by ceejayoz »

waffleiron wrote: post #168
ceejayoz wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I have a legitimate interest in never doing business with someone who defrauded me" seems like a reasonably easy argument to make.

It’s an easy argument, but that doesn’t make it correct. Within law “crimes” have a statue of limitations and almost never infinite long punishment. A strong argument is needed to override someones rights for an unlimited time like that. If you work in the EU, have a chat with your DPO/Privacy team cause I bet they would actually find this an interesting conversation too.

As part of our privacy team, I'm glad it's someone else's argument to have in court someday.

Re: Google Adsense/Admob blocks you for life if you use it before you're 18

#178

Post by ska »

Method-X wrote: post #134
rrwo wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Companies cannot legally provide a lot of services to minors. For other services there is enough bureaucracy that it's easier to avoid by not providing the service to minors. It's also easier to ban accounts for life when they lie about who they are. You don't run the risk of aiding fraud and being fined if you make a mistake, because you banned them. There was nothing preventing the kid from creatibg content. It was…

Sure but that doesn’t mean they should be banned for life . If you commit a crime as a minor does that follow you around for the rest of your life? At least where I live, it doesn’t.

> doesn’t mean they should be banned for life.

It doesn't mean that it shouldn't though, either. I can't imagine any other way around this that doesn't amount to forcing a company to provide a service to someone they have rational reasons to not trust, which seems like globally at least it could cause more problems than it solves.

To be clear I'm not saying we shouldn't encourage a company to re-consider when the person is older, but it's hard to see how they should be forced to.

Re: Google Adsense/Admob blocks you for life if you use it before you're 18

#179

Post by stjohnswarts »

code51 wrote: post #2

A 13-year-old boy sets up Adsense for his Youtube channel and his father is told that his son is now banned from Adsense/Admob for a lifetime. This is what you get when you have no humans in the loop.

And no escape hatch (google policy is 1 and done) when the automated system goofs seals the deal

Re: Google Adsense/Admob blocks you for life if you use it before you're 18

#180

Post by notimetorelax »

kweingar wrote: post #23

I've been banned-for-life from a handful of services after I lied about my age as a kid. I can see both (all?) sides of this: - As a society we ought to be forgiving of harmless youthful indiscretions - As a business you shouldn't have to give second chances to people who blatantly defraud you - There is a big can of worms when it comes to doing business with minors on the internet. I don't think there's a solution a…

Well, the law is usually on the side of the young. Younger you are lighter is the punishment, here it seems to be the reverse.
Post reply on HN