One day after Governor Gavin Newsom signed California's AB 1043 (Digital Age Assurance Act) into law, details emerge on its requirements for operating system providers and app stores to collect birth dates during account setup—effective January 1, 2027—to deliver non-personally identifiable age bracket signals to app developers, protecting children without ID scans or biometrics.
California's AB 1043 mandates that operating system providers and covered app stores implement an accessible interface at account creation where users provide their birth date, age, or both. This generates a digital signal indicating age brackets—such as under 13, under 16, or 18 and over—for transmission to developers via a consistent, real-time API upon app download or launch.
The signal relies solely on self-reported birth date data, ensuring it is non-personally identifiable and avoiding ID scans, third-party brokers, or anticompetitive practices. The law applies globally to any OS or app store available for download in California, including open-source distributions like Linux, which may need simple date pickers or California-specific disclaimers.
Existing accounts created before July 2027 must include mechanisms for users to retroactively add age data. Noncompliance incurs civil penalties enforced by the Attorney General, complementing the bill's fines for developers outlined in initial coverage. Provisions are severable to withstand legal challenges.
Proponents hail it as a child safety advance by embedding age assurance in personal devices, amid broader trends in platform regulations.
