In the state of California a bill has been approved by the Senate and signed by the Governor, requiring operating systems to include age verification during account setup. The bill will be effective starting on January 1, 2027. Parents will need to specify their children’s ages when registering accounts, and apps must use this information to control access to adult content. A similar bill is currently under consideration in Colorado.
The bill mandates that operating system developers provide an interface for users to input their date of birth and age when creating accounts on computers and mobile devices. This age information will then be transferred to applications downloaded from third-party developers. Applications must be able to categorize users into four age groups: under 13, 13-16, 16-18, and 18 and older. Developers must comply with child online protection laws using this age information or face penalties of up to $7,500 for each affected child.
The bill also covers Linux distributions and their package repositories. Discussions on how to ensure compliance with the bill in Linux distributions are currently ongoing. Some participants suggest that non-commercial distribution kits could simply state that they are not intended for use in California.