Starting from next year, all Apple and Android devices sold in California will have to classify users by age during initial setup. Due to the so-called “California effect,” it will cause other jurisdictions – both within the US and globally – to adopt similar rules, with or without state or national legislation being passed.
The law classifies user identities at the operating system level. Once embedded, that regulatory architecture of control is easy to expand and difficult to roll back, Cláudia Ascensão Nunes writes.
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ByCláudia Ascensão Nunes, as published byThe Daily Economyon 4 March 2026
California is embedding age verification directly into digital devices. For those of us concerned with personal liberties, this is an emergency. We are creating an online infrastructure that could reshape how internet access is controlled nationwide.
The legislation,AB 1043, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law in October 2025, requires device manufacturers like Apple and Google to collect the user’s age or date of birth during device setup. The system generates an encrypted “signal” that places the user into one of four age categories. Apps can request this signal and adjust functionality accordingly. California’s Attorney General enforces compliance and can bring civil action against companies that violate the law, with penalties reaching$7,500per intentional violation.
California has around40 million residents. Roughly32.5 million of them use smartphones. If companies fail to comply with this new law, the fines would quickly spiral into the billions of dollars, unaffordable even for large technology companies.
American technology firms already face absurdly large fines under European laws like theDigital Markets Actand theDigital Services Act, where fines seem to be more about revenue-raising than law enforcement. As President Trump haspointed out, the European Union makes more money from fining US technology companies than taxing them.
As aggressive regulations pile up, the financial risk from these fines becomes significant. This creates strong incentives for companies to act with excessive caution, pre-emptively restricting content and features for adults as well as minors, in an effort to dodge liability.
Compared with federal proposals such as theKids Online Safety Act (KOSA)or laws already passed inTexasandUtah, California’s approach is arguably less intrusive because it does not require document uploads or biometric verification. But it still creates a permanent age-classification layer built directly into the device, which is a disaster for civil liberties.
Source: SGT Report
