California's new online safety law requires device-makers like Apple and Google to collect user ages and share that data with apps to help protect kids online. Google and Facebook are happy, Hollywood and Apple are not.
On October 13, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 1043, which requires device makers like Apple and Google to collect a user's age during setup and share an age bracket with apps. The law is designed to help protect kids online.
Major tech companies including Google, Meta, Snap, and OpenAI have backed the legislation. Supporters say it gives apps a standardized way to adjust content and restrictions for younger users.
California's law, reported by Politico, takes a softer approach than the ones in Utah and Texas that sparked lawsuits. It doesn't require ID checks or heavy enforcement.
Parents enter their kids' ages when setting up a device for them. Companies face penalties only if they fail to comply.
Apps receive standardized age data so they can adjust content and restrictions. That approach helps them avoid complicated legal issues.
Apple isn't fully on board with California's new age-check law. The company has warned that broad, device-level verification rules risk exposing "sensitive, personally identifiable information" even for basic apps.
Hollywood tried to stop it
Streaming companies, including Netflix, Amazon, and other major studios, opposed the bill. They argued that device-based age checks would confuse families with shared accounts or separate profiles for parents and kids.
The Motion Picture Association said it already provides parental controls and kid-friendly profiles. Lawmakers didn't believe that was enough and passed the legislation anyway.
Democrat Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, who wrote the bill, said nothing in the law stops parents from setting up child accounts. Wicks said she's open to working with the industry on follow-up legislation next year, but didn't see enough reason to delay.
What the law actually does
Starting in 2026, any device sold in California, such as phones, tablets, and laptops, will ask for the primary user's age during setup. Apple, Google, and other manufacturers will sort users into four age brackets.
YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok can use the shared age bracket to adjust content, limit ads, or set time restrictions for users. It helps developers manage content appropriately for different age groups.
Parents enter their kids' ages when setting up a device for them.
The law focuses on companies, not families. Enforcement will come through the California Attorney General's office, which can go after firms that ignore the rules.
Why some of US big tech supported this version
For companies used to fighting regulators, California's law offers a rare win. It gives them flexibility, avoids harsh penalties, and skips the legal minefield of ID verification.
It also pushes responsibility upstream, with device-makers handling the first step instead of leaving it all to apps. That shared system across the tech stack in theory makes implementation easier and more consistent. And, Facebook won't have to develop their own system, so they're on board with it.
The companies that fought the Texas and Utah laws are supporting California's because the state worked with them from the start and listened to their input. They didn't see it as an attack, which helped the bill pass.
Wicks said she plans to keep the conversation going with the entertainment industry. She knows the bill doesn't solve every concern, but for now the bill is law.
