AB-1700 • 2026

e-Safety Commission: youth online protection.

Children

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: Lowenthal (A) , Alvarez (A) , Bauer-Kahan (A) , Bonta (A) , Hoover (A) , Muratsuchi (A) , Patterson (A) , Wicks
Last action: 2026-03-23
Official status: Re-referred to Com. on P. & C.P.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

e-Safety Commission: youth online protection.

AB 1700, as amended, Lowenthal.

What This Bill Does

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.

Limits and Unknowns

This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

2026-03-23 California Legislative Information
Re-referred to Com. on P. & C.P.
2026-03-19 California Legislative Information
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on P. & C.P. Read second time and amended.
2026-03-19 California Legislative Information
Referred to Com. on P. & C.P.
2026-02-04 California Legislative Information
From printer. May be heard in committee March 6.
2026-02-03 California Legislative Information
Read first time. To print.

Official Summary Text

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.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

Download Bill PDF