Both chambers of the legislature in California just passed the Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (AADC) unanimously. Here’s a brief snapshot-
Applicability: It applies to any business that provides an online service, product, or feature likely to be accessed by children.
Definition of a Child: The Act defines a child as a consumer under 18 years of age. For comparison, CCPA has an age limit of 16 years and COPPA is 13 years.
Effective Date: The Act would be effective on July 1, 2024.
Requirements for businesses under the Act:
- Complete and maintain documentation of a DPIA or TIA for products and features.
- Provide a list of completed DPIAs to the California AG within 3 business days when requested and access to the DPIAs within 5 business days
- Configure PbDD.
- Enforce and use clear language in PP.
- Provide an obvious signal to children when they are being monitored by parents, guardians, or others.
- Provide tools to help children exercise their privacy rights and report concerns.
Prohibited Activities:
- Using children’s personal information in a way that is materially detrimental to a child’s physical health, mental health, or well-being.
- Profiling a child by default.
- Collecting, selling, or sharing children’s precise geolocation information by default, unless it is strictly necessary to the product or service (only for the limited time that such collection is necessary.)
- Collecting children’s precise geolocation without providing an obvious sign to children for the duration of such collection.
- Using dark patterns to lead or encourage children to provide personal information.
- Using children’s personal information to estimate age for any other purpose or retaining that personal information longer than necessary to estimate age.
Fines under the AADC: The AG may impose civil fines for violations of up to $2,500 per affected child or $7,500 for international violations.
Regulatory Authority: This bill would create a 10-person Children’s Data Protection Taskforce to assist with implementing the law.
I would love to hear about your experience/feedback. Please feel free to reach out if you have specific questions.