A new bill signed by Governor Newsom is aiming to force operating system providers to verify users’ ages before they can be used.
Assembly Bill 1043, also known as the Digital Age Assurance Act, was passed and signed into law on Oct.13, 2025, but it has become apparent more recently just how wide-spread this bill can reach when it comes into effect on Jan. 1, 2027, ranging from Android and IOS on mobile devices to Linux and Windows and more.
While many online services already have their own forms of age verification, California’s bill places the onus on operating system providers, rather than individual services, to conduct a mandatory age check that would categorize users into four distinct age groups: under 13, 13–15, 16–17 and 18 or older. This would then send the age bracket information, not specific birthdate, to apps and web services to allow them to use proper discretion.
While this law isn’t the first to be passed at the state level, it differs from other states including Texas, Utah, Nebraska and more by requiring you to enter your age during the device’s initial start-up rather than to access an app store or access applications. Also unlike other state laws, AB 1043 would not require physical proof or government-supplied paperwork like birth certificates or IDs.
Although the bill passed through the state senate and assembly with no votes against it, opposition to the bill still stands. Although backed by large tech companies like Google and Meta along with the Internet Works coalition consisting of companies including Reddit, Pinterest and Roblox, smaller and more open-source software based on simplicity and privacy may have their entire operating systems deemed illegal overnight.
MidnightBSD, an operating system based on Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) meant to be a simplistic OS sharing similar architecture to Linux and MacOS focused on eliminating bloatware and improving pc performance, has already announced they plan to end service in California. The Licensing agreement from MidnightBSD now reads, “California residents are not authorized to use MidnightBSD in the state of California effective January 1, 2027. They added, “CA AB1043 requires a complex age verification system implemented for operating systems with no exceptions for small open source projects.”
While the age reporter is tried on a “scout’s honor” basis, meaning that whatever age they say they are is accepted at face value by the system, companies can be fined between $2500 to $7500 per minor affected by violation of age verification depending if the violation was intentional or not.
On top of having no real deterrent to having someone easily lie, other issues with the
Governor Newsom, although readily signing the bill, had his own criticisms. During the signing he wrote, “Streaming services and video game developers contend that this bill’s framework, while well-suited to traditional software applications, does not fit their respective products, Many of these companies have existing age verification systems in place, addressing complexities such as multi-user accounts shared by a family and user profiles utilized across multiple devices.”
What this law means for the country as a whole is still unclear, but if past examples of regulation in other fields like the automotive industry provide an insight into the future, it is likely that companies like Microsoft and Apple will likely implement these changes nation-wide or even globally, rather than exclusively in California.
Though largely supported by major tech companies excluding Apple as a user-convenint form of protecting children on the internet, only time will tell how effective AB 1043 will end up being. It still remains unclear whether the bill will undergo legal challenges like other similar age verification bills or adaptations before it comes into effect on Jan. 1 of next year.
