How age assurance laws impact open source developers in 2025

In 2025, policymakers worldwide are pushing forward age assurance laws designed to shield children and teenagers from online risks like grooming, violent content, and bullying. Some proposals seek to restrict minors’ access to specific services or materials, while others mandate that devices, operating systems, and app stores verify user ages and transmit age signals to applications. Although these initiatives address legitimate concerns, they risk imposing disproportionate compliance burdens on open source software and developer infrastructure—tools that function differently from consumer-facing platforms.

These laws emerge in response to documented harms, including the exploitation of young users and exposure to harmful content. Yet they also overlook how open source communities, such as those fostering coding education and collaboration, contribute positively to youth development. Many young people gain technical skills, social connections, and career opportunities through participation in open source projects. Policymakers rarely grasp the operational realities of decentralized software ecosystems, leading to proposals that could unintentionally stifle innovation and accessibility.

What is age assurance—and why does it matter to developers?

Age assurance refers to methods used to determine or estimate a user’s age, often through self-reported data, behavioral signals, or more rigorous checks like photo ID verification or financial system cross-checks. While age verification implies high-confidence processes like government ID matching, age assurance spans a broader spectrum of techniques, each with distinct trade-offs in accuracy, privacy, security, and accessibility.

Proposals vary widely in scope:

• Age thresholds that trigger restrictions (e.g., 13, 15, or 18 years old).
• Types of services or content covered (e.g., social media, gaming, or developer tools).
• Whether parental consent is required for minors.
• How access is technically enforced (e.g., API-based age signals or app store restrictions).

Developers must weigh these factors when evaluating how proposed laws could affect their projects, workflows, and users.

Risks to open source ecosystems from rigid compliance demands

A poorly drafted age assurance law could disrupt the open source model by imposing centralized data collection or app store exclusivity—both incompatible with decentralized, user-controlled development. For example, mandating that operating systems centrally gather user data conflicts with the open source principle of minimal data retention. Similarly, requiring age verification for every software installation would undermine the flexibility that defines open source culture.

Another concern is the targeting of "publishers" of operating systems, regardless of their scale. Open source operating systems are frequently reused, modified, and redistributed by individuals and small communities with limited resources. Applying blanket requirements to all publishers—including hobbyists and nonprofits—risks overwhelming these contributors with administrative overhead while doing little to enhance child safety.

GitHub has worked with governments for years to clarify the boundaries of age-related safety legislation. In Australia, for instance, GitHub successfully advocated for open source code collaboration platforms to be excluded from the Social Media Minimum Age rules, recognizing that collaborative coding environments pose different risks than social media platforms. Similar exemptions appear in France’s proposed Social Media Minimum Age law and the EU Copyright Directive, acknowledging the unique role of open source in education and innovation.

Key legislation shaping the developer landscape

Several U.S. states have introduced bills that directly affect how developers handle age data and user access:

• California AB 1043 (Digital Age Assurance Act) and its 2026 amendment AB 1856

Requires operating system providers to collect self-declared age at account creation and transmit a real-time age-range signal to applications via an API, in coordination with covered app stores.

• Colorado SB 26-051 (Age Attestation on Computing Devices)

Mandates that operating systems and app stores generate and share an age-bracket signal with applications through a real-time interface. The definition of "covered applications" continues to evolve, influencing the law’s practical scope.

• Illinois HB 4140 (Digital Age Assurance Act)

Applies to operating system providers and requires collection of age data with real-time transmission of age-category signals to developers, mirroring California’s approach.

These proposals raise critical questions: How will APIs integrate with legacy systems? Which developer tools fall under the definition of "covered applications"? And how can small teams balance compliance with their primary mission of building software?

Navigating compliance while preserving open development

The path forward requires collaboration between developers, platform providers, and policymakers. Open source communities must engage early in legislative processes to highlight unintended consequences and propose practical alternatives. For example, exempting collaborative development platforms from age assurance requirements preserves educational and professional opportunities for young coders while focusing regulations on higher-risk environments.

At the same time, developers should evaluate their own practices. If age signals become standard, how will your project handle privacy-preserving data collection? Could your tools adapt to real-time age signals without compromising performance or user trust?

Policymakers increasingly recognize that open source ecosystems deliver broad societal benefits—from security improvements to educational access. The challenge now is crafting laws that protect minors without eroding the decentralized innovation that drives technological progress. Developers have a vital role to play in shaping these policies and ensuring they reflect the realities of modern software development.