Overview
- The law compels operating system providers to request a user’s birth date or age at account setup and to expose a real-time API that signals the user’s age bracket to requesting apps.
- The required signal must at minimum identify one of four categories: under 13, 13 to under 16, 16 to under 18, or 18 and over.
- The statute takes effect on January 1, 2027.
- The measure does not mandate biometric methods such as facial recognition, leaving verification techniques to providers’ discretion.
- Microsoft already collects a birth date during account creation, whereas Linux community voices question enforceability and suggest workarounds such as California-use disclaimers.