By July, your PC and phone may ask your age when it boots up.
The Digital Age Assurance Act is the latest example of a law that currently only applies to one small area of the world but could be extended elsewhere. Signed into law last October, the Digital Age Assurance Act may only apply to California, but it could have far-reaching implications that could be felt as early as July of this year.
This new law is effectively an age verification service, such that the device and its operating system “understands” how old its user is, as a mechanism for applying other laws or permissions. That would serve as a trigger for putting other safeguards in place, such as the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA).
Here’s how it will affect you: when you set up a new PC, you’ll be asked for your Microsoft account. Likewise, a new Android phone will ask for your Google account and an iPhone will want you to sign in under your Apple account. You’ll likely be asked for your age, too. The law looks out for whether you’re under 13, 13 to 15, 16 to 17, or 18 and older.
But there are two quirks to the law, either of which could prove to be an issue. First, the age of the user is self-reported, so there’s no requirement for true “verification” over and above what the user says. (It’s unclear what would happen when a 17-year-old turns 18 or when any other user transitions through the age categories.) In other words, under the California law, users wouldn’t have to submit a photo ID or any other corroborating evidence. Second, all operating systems will be affected—including Linux, which lacks a centralized account system.
Age verification will be used in the context of applications downloaded from app stores like Steam or the Microsoft Store. And there’s no way out for developers—they’re being required to ask the OS for the user’s age so they can provide the appropriate content. It’s possible that this will be the mechanism that prevents a child from playing a mature game (which, up until now, relied on parental supervision).
And the clock is ticking. An “accessible interface” allowing the OS to ask for the user’s age must be in place by July 1st, even though the law doesn’t go into place until January 1st, 2027, according to the National Law Review.
Developers or operating system providers who don’t comply can be fined $2,500 per child for “negligent violations” or $7,500 per child for “intentional violations.”
The question is whether anyone outside of California will be affected. Because of the number of vehicles in the state, the state’s restrictions on fuel efficiency have, historically, affected the development of motor vehicles across the country. On the other hand, Microsoft shipped an “N” version of Windows to the European Union which stripped out Windows’ Media Player application.
Age verification has proven to be a viable obstacle to online porn, prompting the rise of VPNs. But establishing age verification at the device level might block apps and websites as well. One can imagine a day where a Windows PC asks for the age of the user, then refuses to show them games like Resident Evil in the Xbox app. Is that good or bad? Depends on your perspective, I suppose.