California Removes Browser and Website Expansion From A.B. 1856 Age-Gating Bill

The remaining proposal narrows its focus after lawmakers also added an exemption for open-source operating systems, while the underlying A.B. 1043 requirements remain set for January 2027.

California lawmakers have removed provisions from A.B. 1856 that would have extended the state’s age-gating framework to web browsers and websites, the Electronic Frontier Foundation said. The digital-rights group said the bill, introduced by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, will continue through the Legislature without those provisions.

The change means browser makers and website operators would not face the broader obligations contemplated in earlier versions of A.B. 1856. It also reduces the immediate risk that California’s age-gating rules could reach ordinary web access, an expansion that EFF argued would have increased pressure for age checks, identity collection and restrictions on access to lawful online speech.

EFF also said an earlier amendment exempted open-source operating systems from A.B. 1856. Following those changes, the organization withdrew its opposition to the bill.

The amendments do not alter the underlying California age-gating law, A.B. 1043. Signed in 2025, that law is scheduled to take effect in January 2027. EFF says A.B. 1043 requires operating-system providers and app stores to collect users’ ages, sort users into age brackets and restrict younger users’ access to certain lawful speech and services.

For companies operating app stores or consumer operating systems, the January 2027 deadline remains the central compliance date. EFF says A.B. 1043 can impose fines of up to $7,500 per affected child on operating-system providers that violate the law.

Although EFF says A.B. 1043 does not expressly require age verification, it argues that the law’s liability structure could lead operating-system and app-store providers to verify ages in practice. That could mean greater use of government-ID checks, biometric scans or other data-collection tools intended to establish a user’s age.

The removal of browser and website language is therefore a material scope reduction for internet companies that do not run an operating system or app store. Web publishers, browser developers and online services should not treat the development as a repeal of California’s broader policy direction, however. The state’s existing law still places compliance pressure on the platforms that supply operating systems and distribute apps.

The enforcement exposure described by EFF is especially significant because penalties are calculated per affected child, rather than as a single company-wide violation. Providers preparing for the 2027 effective date will need to assess how their age-bracketing, account-management and content-access systems operate for California users, while limiting collection and retention of sensitive identity data.

There is an important uncertainty around A.B. 1856’s formal legislative position. EFF said the language has been removed and that the bill will proceed without its most controversial provisions, but the statement does not independently establish whether the changes are final statutory text or an amendment at a committee stage. It also does not confirm the bill’s exact current status in the Legislature.

EFF continues to oppose A.B. 1043 itself, calling the law unconstitutional and warning that age-gating systems can undermine anonymity, privacy and security by linking offline identities to online activity. Its decision to remove opposition to A.B. 1856 reflects the narrower bill, not support for California’s underlying age-gating framework.