The California Digital Age Assurance Act, enacted as AB 1043 by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, requires the operating systems on phones, tablets and computers to ask for a user’s age when a device account is set up and to pass apps a signal saying which of four age brackets the user falls into. Governor Gavin Newsom signed it on 13 October 2025, and it takes effect on 1 January 2027. Rather than requiring each app to verify ages itself, it places the age check at the device level.

AB 1043 passed the Assembly 76-0 and the Senate 38-0, with support from Google, Meta, OpenAI, Snap and Pinterest.

Key Provisions

  • Age at setup. Operating system providers must offer an interface at account setup for entering the user’s birth date, age or both.
  • Age signals. They must make available a real-time interface that tells requesting developers whether the user is under 13, 13 to 15, 16 to 17, or 18 and over.
  • Developer duties. App developers must request the signal when an app is downloaded and launched, and treat it as the primary indicator of the user’s age range unless they have clear and convincing information otherwise. A developer that receives a signal is treated as knowing the user’s age range, which triggers its obligations under other state laws that key on that knowledge.
  • App stores. App stores are not required to collect ages or send signals.
  • Enforcement. The Attorney General enforces the law exclusively, with civil penalties of up to $2,500 per affected child for negligent violations and $7,500 for intentional ones. There is no private right of action.

AB 1856 (2026). Wicks’s follow-up bill, AB 1856, passed the Assembly 68-1 on 28 May 2026. The Assembly version exempted operating systems distributed under licenses that allow copying, modification and redistribution, and extended age-bracket requirements to browser providers and website operators; the Electronic Frontier Foundation described it as “one step forward, two steps back,” welcoming the open-source exemption but opposing the browser and website expansion. As signed by Newsom on 10 September 2026, AB 1856 removed the original definition that limited a “user” to a child who is a device’s primary user, so that signals cover users of all ages, and exempted open-source operating systems.

Impact on Digital Platforms

AB 1709, signed the same day as AB 1856, requires social media platforms to determine a user’s age under the Act before offering personalized algorithmic feeds, autoplay and similar features, which it bars for users under 16.

Sources

  1. 01.

    Hamady, L. & Dolen, S. (2025). Analyzing California's Digital Age Assurance Act. Published 27 October 2025. Source for AB 1043's author (Assemblymember Buffy Wicks), the 13 October 2025 signing, the 1 January 2027 effective date, the operating-system setup interface and real-time age-bracket interface with its four brackets, developers' duty to request and rely on the signal, the actual-knowledge rule, and Attorney General enforcement with $2,500 and $7,500 penalties.

    www.troutmanprivacy.com/2025/10/analyzing-californias-digital-age-assurance-act
  2. 02.

    Alston & Bird (Privacy, Cyber & Data Strategy Blog). California Enacts Digital Age Verification Law. (2025). Published 23 October 2025. Corroborates the signing and effective dates and the age brackets; source for app stores not being required to collect age or send signals, the per-child penalty amounts, the Attorney General's exclusive enforcement authority and the absence of a private right of action.

    www.alstonprivacy.com/california-enacts-digital-age-verification-law
  3. 03.

    Harwood, S. (2026). California Age Verification Bill Clears Assembly: Linux Spared, Websites Added to Age-Gating Regime. Published 30 May 2026. Source for AB 1043's 76-0 Assembly and 38-0 Senate votes and its support from Google, Meta, OpenAI, Snap and Pinterest; AB 1856's introduction by Wicks and its 68-1 Assembly passage on 28 May 2026; the Assembly version's open-source exemption and extension to browser providers and website operators; and the Electronic Frontier Foundation's description of the amendment as 'one step forward, two steps back.'

    www.techtimes.com/articles/317449/20260530/california-age-verification-bill-clears-assembly-linux-spared-websites-added-age-gating-regime.htm
  4. 04.

    Kelley Drye & Warren (Ad Law Access). California's 2026 Legislative Session Wraps: A Wave of Privacy and AI Bills Reaches the Governor, With Key Child Safety and AI Measures Signed Into Law. (2026). Published 14 September 2026. Source for AB 1856's signing on 10 September 2026, its removal of the definition limiting a 'user' to a child who is the primary device user so that signals cover all ages, the requirement that operating systems collect birth date or age at setup and signal one of the four brackets, and its exemption of open-source operating systems.

    www.kelleydrye.com/viewpoints/blogs/ad-law-access/californias-2026-legislative-session-wraps-a-wave-of-privacy-and-ai-bills-reaches-the-governor-with-key-child-safety-and-ai-measures-signed-into-law
  5. 05.

    Lecher, C. (2026). California enacts laws restricting chatbots, protecting kids online. Published 10 September 2026. Corroborates AB 1856's signing as part of the 10 September 2026 package and describes it as expanding and revising age-checking requirements.

    calmatters.org/economy/technology/2026/09/california-enacts-laws-restricting-chatbots-protecting-kids-online
  6. 06.

    Common Sense Media. Common Sense Media Applauds Governor Newsom's Signature of AB 1709. (2026). Dated 10 September 2026. Source for AB 1709 requiring platforms to verify a user's age under the Digital Age Assurance Act before serving restricted features to users under 16.

    www.commonsensemedia.org/press-releases/common-sense-media-applauds-governor-newsoms-signature-of-ab-1709