AB 1043: Age verification signals: software applications and online services.

Official summary

Legislative Counsel’s Digest (official, as of the latest version). Written by nonpartisan legislative staff; reproduced verbatim.

Existing law generally provides protections for minors on the internet, including the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act that, among other things, requires a business that provides an online service, product, or feature likely to be accessed by children to do certain things, including estimate the age of child users with a reasonable level of certainty appropriate to the risks that arise from the data management practices of the business or apply the privacy and data protections afforded to children to all consumers and prohibits an online service, product, or feature from, among other things, using dark patterns to lead or encourage children to provide personal information beyond what is reasonably expected to provide that online service, product, or feature or to forego privacy protections.

This bill, beginning January 1, 2027, would require, among other things related to age verification with respect to software applications, an operating system provider, as defined, to provide an accessible interface at account setup that requires an account holder, as defined, to indicate the birth date, age, or both, of the user of that device for the purpose of providing a signal regarding the user’s age bracket to applications available in a covered application store and to provide a developer, as defined, who has requested a signal with respect to a particular user with a digital signal via a reasonably consistent real-time application programming interface regarding whether a user is in any of several age brackets, as prescribed. The bill would require a developer to request a signal with respect to a particular user from an operating system provider or a covered application store when the application is downloaded and launched.

This bill would prohibit an operating system provider or a covered application store from using data collected from a third party in an anticompetitive manner, as specified.

This bill would punish noncompliance with a civil penalty to be enforced by the Attorney General, as prescribed.

This bill would declare its provisions to be severable.

Sponsors

Sponsors by party (alphabetical): Democratic 8 · Republican 3

“Support” is shown only as formal sponsorship recorded by the legislature. Roll-call votes are available on the official bill page.

Recent official actions

1. October 13, 2025Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 675, Statutes of 2025.
2. October 13, 2025Approved by the Governor.
3. September 24, 2025Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m.
4. September 13, 2025Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 77. Noes 0. Page 3480.).
5. September 13, 2025Assembly Rule 63 suspended. (Page 3477.)
6. September 13, 2025Joint Rules 61(a)(14) and 51(a)(4) suspended. (Ayes 59. Noes 20. Page 3413.)
7. September 13, 2025In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.
8. September 12, 2025Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 38. Noes 0. Page 2996.).
9. September 8, 2025Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
10. September 5, 2025Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
11. August 29, 2025Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
12. August 29, 2025From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (August 29).