Change in operating systems. They will continually collect age data

California implemented the Digital Age Assurance Act in October 2025, after Governor Gavin Newsom signed it into law. As part of this legal act, each operating system provider must implement a mechanism for collecting information about the age of users, also within all applications launched on a given system. The definition of a system provider is broad because it covers anyone who creates, licenses or controls an operating system on a computer, mobile device or other general electronic device. So under one umbrella we have Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, as well as Linux and all its distributions and SteamOS.

The Act requires operating system providers to introduce a mechanism for collecting information in real time and transferring this data to each other within all applications running there. Users are to be divided into four age categories:

• under 13 years of age,
• from 13 to 16 years of age,
• between 16 and 18 years of age,
• 18 years and over

Operating system providers are obliged to provide such information to any software developer if they request it, e.g. when an application is downloaded or launched.

Requesting access to such information has legal consequences. Legally, this places responsibility for inappropriate content on developers. Failure to do so will result in fines of PLN 2,500. dollars for unintentional negligence and 7.5 thousand dollars for intentional actions to the detriment of children. Forks 2.5–7.5 thousand hole. are not a total amount, but calculated for each child who had access to inappropriate content in a given application.

The Act does not require the introduction of an ID document scanning mechanism or face verification. Users will self-report their age range, unlike the Texas or Utah laws that used government ID verification mechanisms. The author of the act is Buffy Wicks, who emphasized that the legal act is fully constitutional because it focuses on age confirmation and not on content moderation.

The bill was passed unanimously in both houses of the California Legislature. However, its practical implementation raises a number of questions. Despite signing the act, Gov. Gavin Newsom publicly called on lawmakers to make amendments before the law goes into effect. He drew attention to the problems reported by the industry, including: situations in which one system account is shared by the entire family, or when a user profile is moved between multiple devices. In such cases, it becomes difficult to realistically determine the age of the person actually using the application, and legal liability could fall on developers in a way that is disproportionate to their actual control over the situation.