language: en · last checked: 2026-09-06

CAADCA duties (litigation-frozen)

The California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act’s operative duty section: DPIAs before launch, age estimation or high default privacy, default high-privacy settings, child-appropriate policy language, and the prohibitions on dark patterns and detrimental use — subject to the NetChoice v. Bonta injunction; see the README for the litigation state before relying on any duty.

Civ. Code §1798.99.31

Verbatim from California Legislative Information (current text as at fetch date in frontmatter).

(a) A business that provides an online service, product, or feature likely to be accessed by children shall take all of the following actions:

(1) (A) Before any new online services, products, or features are offered to the public, complete a Data Protection Impact Assessment for any online service, product, or feature likely to be accessed by children and maintain documentation of this assessment as long as the online service, product, or feature is likely to be accessed by children. A business shall biennially review all Data Protection Impact Assessments.
- (B) The Data Protection Impact Assessment required by this paragraph shall identify the purpose of the online service, product, or feature, how it uses children’s personal information, and the risks of material detriment to children that arise from the data management practices of the business. The Data Protection Impact Assessment shall address, to the extent applicable, all of the following:
  - (i) Whether the design of the online product, service, or feature could harm children, including by exposing children to harmful, or potentially harmful, content on the online product, service, or feature.
  - (ii) Whether the design of the online product, service, or feature could lead to children experiencing or being targeted by harmful, or potentially harmful, contacts on the online product, service, or feature.
  - (iii) Whether the design of the online product, service, or feature could permit children to witness, participate in, or be subject to harmful, or potentially harmful, conduct on the online product, service, or feature.
  - (iv) Whether the design of the online product, service, or feature could allow children to be party to or exploited by a harmful, or potentially harmful, contact on the online product, service, or feature.
  - (v) Whether algorithms used by the online product, service, or feature could harm children.
  - (vi) Whether targeted advertising systems used by the online product, service, or feature could harm children.
  - (vii) Whether and how the online product, service, or feature uses system design features to increase, sustain, or extend use of the online product, service, or feature by children, including the automatic playing of media, rewards for time spent, and notifications.
  - (viii) Whether, how, and for what purpose the online product, service, or feature collects or processes sensitive personal information of children.
(2) Document any risk of material detriment to children that arises from the data management practices of the business identified in the Data Protection Impact Assessment required by paragraph (1) and create a timed plan to mitigate or eliminate the risk before the online service, product, or feature is accessed by children.
(3) Within three business days of a written request by the Attorney General, provide to the Attorney General a list of all Data Protection Impact Assessments the business has completed.
(4) (A) For any Data Protection Impact Assessment completed pursuant to paragraph (1), make the Data Protection Impact Assessment available, within five business days, to the Attorney General pursuant to a written request.
- (B) Notwithstanding any other law, a Data Protection Impact Assessment is protected as confidential and shall be exempt from public disclosure, including under the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code).
- (C) To the extent any information contained in a Data Protection Impact Assessment disclosed to the Attorney General includes information subject to attorney-client privilege or work product protection, disclosure pursuant to this paragraph shall not constitute a waiver of that privilege or protection.
(5) Estimate the age of child users with a reasonable level of certainty appropriate to the risks that arise from the data management practices of the business or apply the privacy and data protections afforded to children to all consumers.
(6) Configure all default privacy settings provided to children by the online service, product, or feature to settings that offer a high level of privacy, unless the business can demonstrate a compelling reason that a different setting is in the best interests of children.
(7) Provide any privacy information, terms of service, policies, and community standards concisely, prominently, and using clear language suited to the age of children likely to access that online service, product, or feature.
(8) If the online service, product, or feature allows the child’s parent, guardian, or any other consumer to monitor the child’s online activity or track the child’s location, provide an obvious signal to the child when the child is being monitored or tracked.
(9) Enforce published terms, policies, and community standards established by the business, including, but not limited to, privacy policies and those concerning children.
(10) Provide prominent, accessible, and responsive tools to help children, or if applicable their parents or guardians, exercise their privacy rights and report concerns. (b) A business that provides an online service, product, or feature likely to be accessed by children shall not take any of the following actions:

(1) Use the personal information of any child in a way that the business knows, or has reason to know, is materially detrimental to the physical health, mental health, or well-being of a child.
(2) Profile a child by default unless both of the following criteria are met:
- (A) The business can demonstrate it has appropriate safeguards in place to protect children.
- (B) Either of the following is true:
  - (i) Profiling is necessary to provide the online service, product, or feature requested and only with respect to the aspects of the online service, product, or feature with which the child is actively and knowingly engaged.
  - (ii) The business can demonstrate a compelling reason that profiling is in the best interests of children.
(3) Collect, sell, share, or retain any personal information that is not necessary to provide an online service, product, or feature with which a child is actively and knowingly engaged, or as described in subparagraphs (A) to (D), inclusive, of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 1798.145, unless the business can demonstrate a compelling reason that the collecting, selling, sharing, or retaining of the personal information is in the best interests of children likely to access the online service, product, or feature.
(4) If the end user is a child, use personal information for any reason other than a reason for which that personal information was collected, unless the business can demonstrate a compelling reason that use of the personal information is in the best interests of children.
(5) Collect, sell, or share any precise geolocation information of children by default unless the collection of that precise geolocation information is strictly necessary for the business to provide the service, product, or feature requested and then only for the limited time that the collection of precise geolocation information is necessary to provide the service, product, or feature.
(6) Collect any precise geolocation information of a child without providing an obvious sign to the child for the duration of that collection that precise geolocation information is being collected.
(7) Use dark patterns to lead or encourage children to provide personal information beyond what is reasonably expected to provide that online service, product, or feature to forego privacy protections, or to take any action that the business knows, or has reason to know, is materially detrimental to the child’s physical health, mental health, or well-being.
(8) Use any personal information collected to estimate age or age range for any other purpose or retain that personal information longer than necessary to estimate age. Age assurance shall be proportionate to the risks and data practice of an online service, product, or feature. (c) (1) A Data Protection Impact Assessment conducted by a business for the purpose of compliance with any other law complies with this section if the Data Protection Impact Assessment meets the requirements of this title.

(2) A single data protection impact assessment may contain multiple similar processing operations that present similar risks only if each relevant online service, product, or feature is addressed. (d) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2024.

CAADCA duties (litigation-frozen)

Civ. Code §1798.99.31

Sources

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