Latest bill textAmended version, March 19, 2026 · 814 words
Amended IN Assembly March 19, 2026
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CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 1700
Introduced by Assembly Members Lowenthal, Alvarez, Bauer-Kahan, Bonta, Hoover, Muratsuchi, Patterson, and Wicks
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Arambula, Johnson, and Schiavo)
(Coauthor: Senator Allen)
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February 03, 2026 |
An act to add Chapter 5.4 (commencing with Section 11530) to Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, relating to online safety.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1700, as amended, Lowenthal. eSafety commission:e-Safety Commission: youth online protection.
Existing law, the Digital Age Assurance Act, requires, beginning January 1, 2027, an operating system provider to provide an accessible interface at account setup that requires an accountholder to indicate the birth date, age, or both, of the user of that device for the purpose of providing a signal regarding the user’s age bracket to applications available in a covered application store, among other things related to providing a uniform system for obtaining age information about a user of certain software applications. Existing law defines “user” for these purposes to mean a child that is the primary user of the device.
This bill would establish the e-Safety Commission, as specified, and would require the commission to develop minimum age compliance guidelines for covered entities, as defined, review age assurance technologies used to implement the minimum age verification, and establish procedures for noncompliance investigations. The bill would require, on or before January 1 of each year, the commission to report to the Legislature and the Governor on its activities pursuant to the bill, as specified.
Existing law regulates social media platforms by requiring, among other things, those platforms to provide a clear and conspicuous button that enables the user to delete their account.
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation related to the establishment of an eSafety commission, modeled after a similar entity in Australia and having responsibility for online protection.
NOYES Local Program: NO
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares both of the following:
(a) Current laws do not uniformly prevent underage individuals from accessing certain online services or platforms.
(b) A state entity is needed to oversee, coordinate, and enforce age verification practices to protect minors while respecting privacy and security.
SEC. 2.
Chapter 5.4 (commencing with Section 11530) is added to Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read: CHAPTER 5.4. e-Safety Commission
11530.
As used in this chapter:
(a) “Commission” means the e-Safety Commission established pursuant to this chapter.
(b) “Covered entity” means a person or organization providing online services subject to a law that pertains to the minimum age.
(c) “Minimum age” means 16 years of age.
11530.1.
(a) The e-Safety Commission is hereby established within the ____ and composed of all of the following members:
(1) A member of academia appointed by the Governor and subject to Senate confirmation.
(2) A technologist appointed by the Governor and subject to Senate confirmation.
(3) A member of civil society appointed by the Governor and subject to Senate confirmation.
(4) An expert in technology ethics appointed by the Governor and subject to Senate confirmation.
(5) An expert in education appointed by the Governor and subject to Senate confirmation.
(6) A member of academia with expertise in artificial intelligence appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.
(7) A member of academia with expertise in social science appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.
(8) Two members appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules.
(b) A member of the commission shall meet all of the following criteria:
(1) The member shall be free of direct and indirect external influence and shall not seek or take instructions from another.
(2) The member shall not take an action or engage in an occupation, whether gainful or not, that is incompatible with the member’s duties.
(3) The member shall not, either at the time of the member’s appointment or during the member’s term, have a financial interest in an entity that is subject to regulation by the commission.
(4) The member shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority for a maximum of eight consecutive years.
11530.2.
(a) The commission shall do all of the following:
(1) Develop minimum age compliance guidelines for covered entities.
(2) Review age assurance technologies used to implement the minimum age verification.
(3) Establish procedures for noncompliance investigations.
(b) On or before January 1 of each year, the commission shall report to the Legislature, pursuant to Section 9795, and the Governor on all of the following:
(1) The commission’s activities under this chapter.
(2) Compliance rates among covered entities.
(3) Enforcement actions taken and proposed statutory changes.
It is the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation related to the establishment of an eSafety commission, modeled after a similar entity in Australia and having responsibility for online protection.
