Sponsors (2)
The bill strengthens protections and parental controls to reduce targeted advertising to minors and creates national rules and liability safe harbors that simplify compliance — but it raises costs for developers, risks misclassification and data‑concentration, and limits states' ability to adopt stricter protections, potentially shifting harms to users or reducing free app availability.
Children and teens will face less targeted advertising because the law restricts personalized advertising to Minors and defines covered apps to limit cross‑site behavioral profiling.
App developers, distributors, and platforms get clearer, more predictable rules — including precise definitions, centralized FTC enforcement, and preemption of state patchworks — reducing regulatory uncertainty and compliance complexity across the country.
Parents gain stronger, easier-to-use controls: distributors must offer parental‑control options, parents can block age‑inappropriate purchases, and account holders can view and correct Age Category data.
Apps and ad sellers that rely on cross‑app behavioral advertising risk losing revenue or being reclassified, which could lead to fewer free apps, reduced features, or higher costs passed to users.
App distributors and developers will face additional compliance costs to implement Age Signals, segregate ad processing, and support parental controls, costs that may be passed on to consumers or deter small developers.
Errors in age estimation or signaling could misclassify users (treating adults as Minors or vice versa), restricting access to content or exposing children, with real effects on user experience and safety.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Creates a standard Age Signal, requires age-category collection, parental controls, bans personalized ads to Minors, assigns FTC enforcement, and preempts state laws.
Introduced December 1, 2025 by Jake Auchincloss · Last progress December 1, 2025
Requires app distribution platforms (app stores), operating systems, covered websites, and app developers to collect or obtain an account-holder "age category," provide parents with controls to block minors from obtaining or using age-restricted apps, and make an interoperable "Age Signal" available (with consent) so developers can tailor experiences by age. Developers must designate whether an app is adult-only or provides different experiences by age, reasonably verify age, prohibit personalized advertising to minors, minimize Age Signal data use, and obtain parental consent for legally age-gated content. The FTC enforces violations, the law shields distributors/OS providers that make good‑faith compliance efforts, assigns primary responsibility to developers, preempts state/local laws on the same subject, and becomes effective no later than 24 months after enactment.