On Feb. 20, 2025, Assemblymember Buffy Wicks introduced California’s Digital Age Assurance Act (AB 1043). The bill was drafted as a safety measure to protect children and teenagers from malicious software. After multiple revisions, the bipartisan bill was later signed into law by the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, on Oct. 13. What was supposed to be a virtual guard has grown into a legal nightmare involving unnecessary age verification on operating systems for a computer login.
How Does Digital Age Assurance Work?
AB 1043 targets any program that is considered to be an online service or a software application. Developers are required to monitor user logins and verify their ages before gaining access. Application permissions will be granted using four age groups: under the age of 13, over 13, to the age of 16 and under 18, and at least 18 or over.
According to Tom’s Hardware, AB 1043 does not require biometric scanning, such as photo identification or facial recognition. Wicks wanted the bipartisan bill to avoid government involvement. Her implementation helped the draft pass the Assembly by a 76-0 vote and the Senate by a 38-0 vote.
PC owners found that AB 1043 treats operating systems as an application rather than a separate entity. For years, Microsoft has integrated age verification into Windows 11 for new account holders to access their Office 360 programs and their digital storefront. Under the Digital Age Assurance Act, Microsoft and its competitors must comply with California by collecting information and notifying the developer that they must create an age-appropriate user interface.
Intentional and Accidental Fines Are Pricy
What happens if a child without adult supervision accesses a computer under these circumstances? Title 1798.503 states that the parent or legal guardian of any violator who uses their computer without verification could be charged $2,500 fine per affected child. The fine triples if California authorities see any intentional violations made to bypass the age-appropriate interface process.
What’s worse about AB 1043’s charges is that the monitoring parties will not be held liable. Section B reads, “An operation system provider or a covered application store that makes a good faith effort to comply with [Title 1798.503], taking into consideration available technology, and any reasonable technical limitations or outages, shall not be liable for erroneous signal indicating user’s age or any conduct a developer that receives a signal indicating a user’s age range.”
Linux and Modded Systems Could Be in Trouble
Among the operating systems, Linux and its sibling Linux Mint could face difficulties when the Digital Assurance Act takes effect in 2027. The Penguin OS has multiple distributions, with Ubuntu being the most popular, and there is no centralized account. Its source code can be modified freely by programmers and installed on both Mac and Windows computers.
AB 1043 will also affect any modded version of Linux, MacOS, and Windows 11, as it could easily lead to users being fined by the State of California. System76 engineer Jeremy Soller explained the potential future damage the bill could cause after thoroughly reading it.
He said on Reddit, “If an operating system is developed internationally, but there is a business relationship with anyone in these states, including support, pre-installed hardware, or otherwise-it is likely to make someone liable. The fines are noncompliance are plainly stated in [the Digital Assurance Act] and are extreme.
[…] I can assure you that [all open-sourced OSes] will do everything possible to prevent identification of users. […] I think the scariest and saddest things about these bills are the scope they have, the lack of technological understanding demonstrated, and how much liability is shifted to OS providers, including those of free and open-source operating systems.”
AB 1043 Feels like a Repeat of COPPA
The California law is similar to the intention of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). On Sept. 4, 2019, YouTube and Google were fined $170 million by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for placing advertisements on “made for kids” content, collecting user data, and no parental consent.
Until YouTuber KreekCraft identified that COPPA affected content creators, specifically Let’s Players and animators. The FTC failed to specify how videos can be considered “child-friendly”. Instead, YouTube used bots to scan the visuals to determine the appropriate audience.
Their carelessness resulted in limited revenue, mislabeling, and unfair charges. For example, a Roblox video with a creator using curse words would get the video flagged as “made for kids”. The bright colors and simple graphics influenced the YouTube bot’s decision because the game is catered towards children. It’s the same for animated gore being mistaken for an innocent cartoon, if we learn anything from the days of Elsagate. Time will tell how far AB 1043 will get out of hand.
