Child Safety Policy

Our Commitment

We Take This Seriously

Hatch Social is committed to maintaining a platform that is safe for all users, with particular and heightened protections for minors. We comply with all applicable child safety laws globally, including:

• The U.S. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)
• The EU General Data Protection Regulation — provisions for children (GDPR-K)
• The UK Children's Code (Age Appropriate Design Code)
• The U.S. PROTECT Our Children Act and NCMEC reporting requirements
• The EU Digital Services Act (DSA) — minor-protection provisions
• Australia's Online Safety Act

Age Requirements

Minimum Age to Use Hatch

Users must be at least 16 years old to create a Hatch account. In jurisdictions with a higher minimum age for digital services (such as some EU member states where GDPR sets the age at 16 with parental consent, or markets where 18 applies), the higher age requirement governs.

Certain features — including monetization tools, subscription creation, and access to mature-labeled Nests — require users to be 18 years of age or older and may require identity verification.

Hatch is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect, store, or process personal data from children under 13. If we discover that a user is under 13, we will immediately:

• Suspend the account
• Delete all associated personal data
• Notify the reporting party of the outcome (without disclosing personal information)

Zero Tolerance

Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM)

Hatch has a strict zero-tolerance policy for child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and any content that sexually exploits, endangers, or harms minors.

This includes:

• Images, video, or audio depicting sexual acts involving minors
• Drawn, animated, or AI-generated sexual content involving minors
• Content that sexualizes minors in any form — including text-only descriptions
• Grooming material — content designed to facilitate contact with or exploitation of minors
• Links or references to external CSAM sources

Upon discovery of any CSAM:

• Content is removed immediately
• The account is permanently banned
• A report is made to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) via CyberTipline within 24 hours, as required by federal law
• A report is made to the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) for UK/EU flagging
• Law enforcement is notified as appropriate

Prohibited Content

Content Involving Minors That Is Prohibited

Beyond CSAM, the following content involving or targeting minors is strictly prohibited:

• Sexual roleplay involving characters identified or implied to be under 18
• Content that facilitates or encourages adults to form inappropriate relationships with minors
• Content that encourages minors to conceal online relationships from parents or guardians
• Any content that normalizes, romanticizes, or minimizes the sexual exploitation of children
• Deepfakes or synthetic media that depicts minors in sexual or exploitative contexts
• Content that solicits personal information from minors (address, school, location)

Age Verification

How We Verify Age

All users are required to provide their date of birth at registration. Users who indicate they are under the minimum age are denied access.

For access to monetization tools, mature-labeled Nests, or Creator-tier features, Hatch may require additional age verification via Stripe Identity or an equivalent identity verification provider.

Users who provide false age information are in violation of our Terms of Service and may be permanently banned upon discovery.

Grooming Prevention

Protecting Minors From Grooming

Hatch actively monitors for grooming behavior patterns, including:

• Adults sending unsolicited private messages to accounts belonging to minors
• Requests for personal contact information from minors (phone number, address, social handles)
• Offering gifts, money, or opportunities to minors in exchange for personal information or content
• Encouraging minors to keep platform interactions secret from parents or guardians
• Moving conversations from public spaces to private messaging with minors

Any user identified as engaging in grooming behavior will be immediately suspended and reported to law enforcement.

Reporting

How to Report Child Safety Concerns

If you encounter any content or behavior that you believe endangers a child:

• Use the Report button on any post, profile, or message within Hatch — child safety reports are automatically escalated to our Trust & Safety team
• Email [email protected] with the subject line "Child Safety — URGENT" — these are reviewed within 2 hours
• You may also report directly to NCMEC CyberTipline at cybertipline.org or by calling 1-800-843-5678
• In the UK: report to the Internet Watch Foundation at iwf.org.uk
• In Australia: report to the eSafety Commissioner at esafety.gov.au

Regulatory Compliance

Our Legal Obligations

Hatch complies with all child safety reporting laws including:

• 18 U.S.C. § 2258A — mandatory NCMEC reporting for CSAM discovered on our platform
• COPPA — no collection of data from children under 13 without verifiable parental consent
• UK Children's Code — privacy-by-default settings, no nudging, no profiling for children
• EU DSA Article 28 — enhanced protections for minors in platform design and advertising
• Australia Online Safety Act 2021 — compliance with eSafety Commissioner guidelines

We maintain records of all CSAM reports made to NCMEC and law enforcement for a minimum of 90 days as required by law.

Contact

Child Safety Contact

Child safety reports: [email protected] — subject line "Child Safety — URGENT"

Legal & compliance: [email protected]

Postal: Hatch Social, Attn: Trust & Safety, [PO Box Address — To Be Added Before Launch], Colorado, United States

This policy is reviewed annually and updated to reflect changes in law, platform features, and child safety best practices.