Evan Schuman's StorefrontBacktalk

In general, online efforts to verify age haven’t even risen to the respectability level of being a joke. Asking a date of birth? You think that 10-year-olds can’t add two digits? You can’t assume a payment card means the buyer is an adult, and a driver’s license is irrelevant for younger shoppers. (And in some places, such as New York City, it’s not uncommon for people to not have a driver’s license at all.)

The approach that Mark suggested involves lying to customers, telling adult shoppers they are liable for purchases even if the retailer knows the law says the opposite. That approach won’t last long, nor should it. But what is the best approach if the court reinforces a minor’s inability to make a purchase?

A strict policy that nobody purchasing a digital product gets a refund, ever—which is pretty close to a lot of retail digital policies today—is a good start. But this issue really comes down to two unacceptable options.

First, if minors can’t be held to a sales agreement, then a retailer must simply refuse to sell to them. (Given the dollars involved on game and music purchases, we can rule that one out right away.) Second, you suck it up and hope it doesn’t happen very often.

Here’s the real issue. The intent of the law is about a true young child, with no intent or awareness of what a purchase decision means. The extreme example: A 2-year-old is playing with his mother’s laptop—where she had just made an iTunes purchase—and he unintentionally buys the complete series of “fill in the blank some really high-priced show” for $890. If the retailer doesn’t refund that, Visa/MasterCard will.

No one has an argument with the accidental 2-year-old purchase. That’s what was envisioned with the original legislation. Compare that with the more common scenario of a 17-year-old who deliberately makes digital purchases, fully intending to later dispute the payment because he’s a minor.

Those are issues for the court and various legislatures. For retailers, the only response—beyond funding an appeal—is to hope it doesn’t happen too often. That’s not a brilliant strategy, but it’s the best choice from quite a few unappetizing options.