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DENVER, CO – The House today passed bipartisan legislation to establish a framework for age attestation on digital platforms. SB26-051, sponsored by Representatives Amy Paschal and Naquetta Ricks, passed by a vote of 40-23.
“In an era where children are given phone access at a young age, it is crucial that we strengthen online protections to keep children safe,” said Rep. Amy Paschal, D-Colorado Springs. “We have protections in place to prevent targeted advertising and profiling of minors online, but without accurate age attestation, it is difficult to deploy these protections. Our legislation would create guidelines around age data collection to apply age-appropriate protections for minor users while ensuring that third-party companies cannot get their hands on this information.”
“From social media platforms to game apps, this bill helps create a safer online environment for Colorado children,” said Rep. Naquetta Ricks, D-Aurora. “In today’s world, it is nearly impossible to prevent children from accessing the internet. This bill helps online platforms accurately apply protections based on the age of the user, giving parents another tool to protect their children online.”
SB26-051 would establish a framework for operating systems to send age bracket information to apps without requiring users to submit sensitive personal identification documents.
The bill would require an operating system provider to collect an account holder’s age or birth date upon account set-up and translate that information into certain age brackets. These operating system providers would share the age bracket information with application developers to help them determine the age range of the user, including whether the user is a minor. These operating system providers and app developers would not be allowed to share this age data with third-party companies, or to collect any data not directly related to determining age range.
The bill also establishes penalties for non-compliance, including up to $2,500 for negligent violations and $7,500 for intentional violations for each impacted minor.
The Colorado Privacy Act was created in 2021 to improve data privacy protections. The law allows people to opt out of data collection on websites and requires companies to be transparent about the data they collect. It also enhanced these protections for minor users, requiring data controllers to be sensitive to data processing, targeted advertising and profiling of minors.
SB26-051 mirrors California’s Digital Age Assurance Act, which was signed into law last year.