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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>Ageless Linux — The Lobby: Who Wrote These Laws</title>
<link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Ageless Linux: Updates" href="/rss.xml">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css">
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</style>
</head>
<body>
<nav>
<div class="inner">
<a href="index.html" class="logo">AGELESS<span> LINUX</span></a>
<div class="links">
<a href="index.html">Home</a>
<a href="map.html">State Laws</a>
<a href="lobbyists.html" class="active">Lobbyists</a>
<a href="distros.html">Distros</a>
<a href="download.html">Download</a>
<a href="hardware.html">Hardware</a>
<a href="citations.html">Citations</a>
</div>
</div>
</nav>
<div class="page-header">
<div class="container">
<h2>The Lobby</h2>
<h1>Who <em>Wrote</em> These Laws</h1>
<p>
AB 1043 passed the California Assembly 76–0 and the Senate 38–0. Not a single
legislator voted against it. Laws do not pass unanimously by accident. They pass unanimously
because the interests that benefit from them have done enough work to eliminate opposition
before the vote. This page documents who did that work.
</p>
</div>
</div>
<!-- THE PATTERN -->
<section>
<div class="container">
<h2>The Pattern</h2>
<h3>How One Bill Becomes Every Bill</h3>
<p>
AB 1043 was not written in isolation. It is a template. ICMEC published the model text as a
<a href="https://cdn.icmec.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Digital-Age-Assurance-Act-2024.pdf">ready-to-introduce
statutory draft</a>, and its Global Head of Policy presented it directly to Virginia’s
<a href="https://dls.virginia.gov/commissions/jcots/materials/2024_annual_report.pdf">Joint Commission
on Technology and Science</a>. The same organizations that drafted the model bill are now
deploying it in state legislatures across the country. The companies that benefit from the
compliance moat fund the advocacy organizations that draft the bills that create the compliance moat.
</p>
<div class="pipeline-step">
<div class="pipeline-node">
<div style="color:var(--accent); font-weight:600;">CA AB 1043</div>
<div style="font-size:11px; color:var(--text-dim); margin-top:4px;">signed Oct 2025</div>
</div>
<div class="pipeline-arrow">→</div>
<div class="pipeline-node">
<div style="color:var(--text-bright); font-weight:600;">CO SB 26-051</div>
<div style="font-size:11px; color:var(--text-dim); margin-top:4px;">explicit copy</div>
</div>
<div class="pipeline-arrow">→</div>
<div class="pipeline-node">
<div style="color:var(--text-bright); font-weight:600;">MI HB 4429 / SB 284</div>
<div style="font-size:11px; color:var(--text-dim); margin-top:4px;">“model legislation”</div>
</div>
<div class="pipeline-arrow">→</div>
<div class="pipeline-node">
<div style="color:var(--text-dim); font-weight:600;">Next State</div>
<div style="font-size:11px; color:var(--text-dim); margin-top:4px;"> </div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="card red-card">
<p>
Colorado Senator Matt Ball (D) stated publicly that SB 26-051 was “based on
California’s bill AB 1043.” Michigan Representative Paquette called HB 4429
and SB 284 “model legislation.” The template is not hidden. It is the strategy.
</p>
</div>
</div>
</section>
<!-- AUTHORS -->
<section>
<div class="container">
<h2>Authors</h2>
<h3>The Legislators</h3>
<div class="card">
<div class="lobbyist-entry">
<div>
<div class="lobbyist-name">Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks</div>
<div class="lobbyist-role">AB 1043 Author</div>
</div>
<div class="lobbyist-detail">
Author of AB 1043, the Digital Age Assurance Act. D-Oakland. Before entering the
legislature, served as Campaign Director for
<a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/press-releases/common-sense-to-launch-grassroots-advocacy-campaign-in-california">Common
Sense Kids Action</a>, Common Sense Media’s political advocacy arm, starting in
March 2016. <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Buffy_Wicks">Elected in 2018</a>. Then
authored the bill that Common Sense Media’s ecosystem advocated for. Received
<span class="money">$8,500</span> in direct campaign donations from Google, with an
additional approximately <span class="money">$2,000</span> from Google employees.
Brokered a <span class="money">$250,000,000</span> deal between Google, the State
of California, and news publishers in 2024. Introduced the bill that creates a
compliance requirement Google already meets at zero marginal cost.
</div>
</div>
<div class="lobbyist-entry">
<div>
<div class="lobbyist-name">Senator Tom Umberg</div>
<div class="lobbyist-role">AB 1043 Co-Author</div>
</div>
<div class="lobbyist-detail">
Co-author of AB 1043. D-Santa Ana.
</div>
</div>
<div class="lobbyist-entry" style="border-bottom:none;">
<div>
<div class="lobbyist-name">Colorado Sponsors</div>
<div class="lobbyist-role">SB 26-051 Sponsors</div>
</div>
<div class="lobbyist-detail">
Senator Matt Ball (D), Senator Larry Liston (R), Representative Amy Paschal
(D, former software engineer), Representative Naquetta Ricks.
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</section>
<!-- PRIMARY BACKERS -->
<section>
<div class="container">
<h2>Primary Backers</h2>
<h3>The Companies That Benefit</h3>
<p>
Every company listed below already collects user age data as part of its existing business
operations. For each of them, AB 1043 compliance costs approximately nothing. For the 600+
volunteer Linux distributions, it costs everything.
</p>
<div class="card">
<div class="lobbyist-entry">
<div>
<div class="lobbyist-name">Meta</div>
<div class="lobbyist-role">Endorsed</div>
</div>
<div class="lobbyist-detail">
Publicly endorsed AB 1043. Engineered the conceptual shift from platform-level to
operating-system-level age verification—moving the compliance burden from
Meta’s products to every OS distributor. Funded the Digital Childhood Alliance.
Also a <a href="https://www.icmec.org/our-supporters/">listed supporter</a> of ICMEC,
which drafted the DAAA model bill.
Dan Sachs, VP of Safety Policy, issued a formal endorsement on September 9, 2025.
Nicole Lopez, Global Director of Youth Safety Policy, testified before state
legislatures in 20+ states promoting similar bills.
</div>
</div>
<div class="lobbyist-entry">
<div>
<div class="lobbyist-name">Google</div>
<div class="lobbyist-role">Endorsed (Reversed)</div>
</div>
<div class="lobbyist-detail">
Filed formal opposition to AB 1043 in April 2025, arguing the bill shielded
application developers from liability. Six rounds of amendments later, the final
version included a “good faith” liability shield for OS providers under
<span class="legal-cite">§ 1798.502(b)</span>—rewritten to Google’s
specifications. By September 2025, Google’s Senior Director of Government
Affairs called the bill “thoughtful.” The bill’s author received
<span class="money">$8,500</span> in direct Google campaign donations and brokered
a <span class="money">$250M</span> Google-state-publishers deal. Google also supported
KOSA at the federal level. Android already collects date of birth during account setup.
</div>
</div>
<div class="lobbyist-entry">
<div>
<div class="lobbyist-name">Microsoft</div>
<div class="lobbyist-role">Silent Beneficiary</div>
</div>
<div class="lobbyist-detail">
Made no public statement on AB 1043. Explicitly supported KOSA at the federal level.
Windows already requires date-of-birth entry during Microsoft Account creation. Xbox
has full parental controls. AB 1043 creates near-zero marginal compliance cost for
Microsoft while imposing existential burdens on open-source alternatives.
</div>
</div>
<div class="lobbyist-entry">
<div>
<div class="lobbyist-name">Apple</div>
<div class="lobbyist-role">Silent Beneficiary</div>
</div>
<div class="lobbyist-detail">
Made no public statement endorsing or opposing AB 1043. Already collects user age
through Apple ID. Benefits from the “good faith” liability shield under
<span class="legal-cite">§ 1798.502(b)</span>. The App Store already implements
age-based content restrictions. Compliance cost: zero. No evidence of active lobbying
for the bill—but no need to lobby for a law you already comply with.
</div>
</div>
<div class="lobbyist-entry">
<div>
<div class="lobbyist-name">OpenAI</div>
<div class="lobbyist-role">Co-Sponsor</div>
</div>
<div class="lobbyist-detail">
Merged competing ballot initiatives with Common Sense Media in January 2026 to create
the “Parents & Kids Safe AI Act.” Committed at least
<span class="money">$10,000,000</span> to the combined effort.
</div>
</div>
<div class="lobbyist-entry">
<div>
<div class="lobbyist-name">Internet Works Coalition</div>
<div class="lobbyist-role">Endorsed</div>
</div>
<div class="lobbyist-detail">
Reddit, Pinterest, and Roblox endorsed AB 1043 through the Internet Works coalition.
None of these companies are operating system providers. They are platforms—the
entities the law is ostensibly designed to regulate. Platforms endorsing an OS-level
mandate tells you everything about who this law is designed to protect: not the
platforms from liability, but the platforms from competition.
</div>
</div>
<div class="lobbyist-entry" style="border-bottom:none;">
<div>
<div class="lobbyist-name">Age Verification Providers Association (AVPA)</div>
<div class="lobbyist-role">Vendor Trade Body</div>
</div>
<div class="lobbyist-detail">
Trade association representing
<a href="https://avpassociation.com/">34 age assurance vendor companies</a>, including
Yoti. Filed an
<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/23/23-1122/332649/20241122182350193_No.%2023-1122%20AVPA%20amicus.pdf">amicus
brief</a> with the Supreme Court in <em>Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton</em> supporting
age verification mandates. Every member company sells age verification tools. Every
mandate creates customers.
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="card red-card">
<h4 style="margin-top:0;">The NetChoice Paradox</h4>
<p>
NetChoice—the tech industry trade association—filed a formal veto request
opposing AB 1043 on September 29, 2025. NetChoice’s members include Google and Meta,
both of which endorsed the bill individually. The trade group filed a veto request opposing
the law its own members support. This is not confusion. This is positioning.
</p>
</div>
</div>
</section>
<!-- THE PIPELINE -->
<section>
<div class="container">
<h2>The Pipeline</h2>
<h3>Advocacy Organizations and Their Funders</h3>
<p>
The organizations that draft and promote age verification legislation receive their funding
from the companies that benefit from it.
</p>
<div class="card">
<div class="lobbyist-entry">
<div>
<div class="lobbyist-name">Common Sense Media</div>
<div class="lobbyist-role">Model-Bill Architect</div>
</div>
<div class="lobbyist-detail">
Founded by James P. Steyer, brother of billionaire Tom Steyer. Annual revenue
approximately <span class="money">$24,600,000</span>. Receives approximately
<span class="money">$10,000,000</span> per year from 21 business distribution partners.
Foundation funders include the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (Meta), the Bezos Family
Foundation (Amazon), and the Gates Foundation (Microsoft). The companies that benefit
from OS-level age verification fund the organization that advocated for OS-level age
verification.
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="card">
<div class="lobbyist-entry" style="border-bottom:none;">
<div>
<div class="lobbyist-name">5Rights Foundation</div>
<div class="lobbyist-role">International Architect</div>
</div>
<div class="lobbyist-detail">
Led by Baroness Beeban Kidron, a member of the UK House of Lords. Architect of the
Age Appropriate Design Code model that inspired California’s AB 2273 and
subsequently AB 1043. Co-developed IEEE 2089.1 Standard for online age verification.
Inspired similar legislation in Maryland, Vermont, Connecticut, and Minnesota.
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="card">
<div class="lobbyist-entry" style="border-bottom:none;">
<div>
<div class="lobbyist-name">International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC)</div>
<div class="lobbyist-role">Model-Bill Author</div>
</div>
<div class="lobbyist-detail">
Drafted the Digital Age Assurance Act as a
<a href="https://cdn.icmec.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Digital-Age-Assurance-Act-2024.pdf">model
bill</a> and published it with a
<a href="https://cdn.icmec.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Digital-Age-Assurance-Act-Technical-Whitepaper-FINAL-Feb-07-2025.pdf">technical
whitepaper</a>,
<a href="https://cdn.icmec.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/The-Digital-Age-Assurance-Act-Constitutional-Analysis-02-07-2025-FINAL.docx.pdf">constitutional
analysis</a>, and FAQ. Bob Cunningham, Global Head of Policy (formerly CEO), presented
the model directly to Virginia’s
<a href="https://dls.virginia.gov/commissions/jcots/materials/2024_annual_report.pdf">Joint
Commission on Technology and Science</a> on November 6, 2024, which led to a request
for draft legislation. Annual revenue approximately
<span class="money">$3,797,965</span>
(<a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/223630133">ProPublica
990</a>). Auditors flagged a going concern—substantial doubt about the
organization’s ability to meet financial obligations. Corporate supporters include
<a href="https://www.icmec.org/our-supporters/">Meta</a>, which also publicly endorsed
AB 1043.
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="card yellow-card">
<p>
The funding flows in a circle. Tech companies fund advocacy organizations. Advocacy
organizations draft model bills. Model bills create compliance requirements. The compliance
requirements cost nothing for the tech companies that funded the advocacy organizations.
The cost falls on everyone else.
</p>
</div>
<div class="card" style="margin-top: 24px;">
<h4 style="margin-top: 0;">The COPPA Trigger</h4>
<p>
AB 1043 does not merely create a compliance moat. It creates a compliance moat that
authorizes more data collection about children.
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 12px;">
Under COPPA, the federal children’s privacy law, companies are subject to strict
obligations when they have “actual knowledge” that a user is under 13. For two
decades, Big Tech exploited a simple loophole: don’t ask, don’t know. If you
never collect age data, you never have actual knowledge, and COPPA never triggers.
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 12px;">
AB 1043 closes that loophole—but in a way that also works for Big Tech. Once an
operating system sends an age bracket signal indicating a user is under 13, every application
developer who receives that signal has “deemed actual knowledge” and is locked
into full COPPA obligations. The burden of generating the signal falls on OS providers, not
on Meta or Google. The platforms get to claim they are “protecting children” while
the operating system does the data collection that triggers the legal framework.
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 12px;">
In February 2026, the FTC issued a COPPA Policy Statement essentially admitting that
age verification and data minimization are in fundamental conflict. The federal regulator
acknowledges the contradiction. The California legislature encoded it into law.
</p>
</div>
<div class="card" style="margin-top: 24px;">
<h4 style="margin-top: 0;">The Door That Stays Open</h4>
<p>
AB 1043 requires only self-declared age—a birthdate field, not government ID or
biometrics. Industry analysts have described this as “an initial implementation
designed to get the door open.” Self-declaration today. Biometric verification
tomorrow. The infrastructure is the same; only the input changes. Once every operating
system has an age collection interface and a real-time API for transmitting age data to
applications, upgrading from a text field to a face scan is a configuration change, not
a new law.
</p>
</div>
<div class="card" style="margin-top: 24px; border-color: var(--border);">
<p style="font-size: 13px; color: var(--text-dim);">
The connection between ICMEC’s model bill and the state legislative pipeline was
first documented by
<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/1rr3f3n/followup_to_my_bill_text_comparison_i_traced_who/">/u/aaronsb
on r/linux</a>, building on
<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/1rmhxk1/i_pulled_the_actual_bill_text_from_5_state_age/">prior
bill text comparison research</a>.
</p>
</div>
</div>
</section>
<!-- CO-SPONSORS -->
<section>
<div class="container">
<h2>Co-Sponsors</h2>
<h3>Organizations That Endorsed AB 1043</h3>
<div class="sponsor-grid">
<div class="sponsor-item">
<div class="sponsor-name">Children Now</div>
<div class="sponsor-type"><span class="badge badge-red">CO-SPONSOR</span></div>
</div>
<div class="sponsor-item">
<div class="sponsor-name">California Catholic Conference</div>
<div class="sponsor-type"><span class="badge badge-dim">SUPPORTER</span></div>
</div>
<div class="sponsor-item">
<div class="sponsor-name">CFT-AFL-CIO</div>
<div class="sponsor-type"><span class="badge badge-dim">SUPPORTER</span></div>
</div>
<div class="sponsor-item">
<div class="sponsor-name">#HalfTheStory</div>
<div class="sponsor-type"><span class="badge badge-dim">SUPPORTER</span></div>
</div>
<div class="sponsor-item">
<div class="sponsor-name">The Source LGBT+ Center</div>
<div class="sponsor-type"><span class="badge badge-dim">SUPPORTER</span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</section>
<!-- THE COALITION -->
<section>
<div class="container">
<h2>The Coalition</h2>
<h3>Who Is Not at This Table</h3>
<div class="card" style="border-color: var(--accent);">
<p>
ALEC—the American Legislative Exchange Council, the organization most commonly
associated with model legislation campaigns—is not driving these bills. ALEC
favors parental-control solutions over government mandates and has not adopted
OS-level age verification as a model policy.
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 12px;">
This matters because it preempts the easiest dismissal: that age verification mandates
are a right-wing culture war project. They are not. The actual coalition is Big Tech
companies and centrist child-safety nonprofits funded by Big Tech, opposed by civil
libertarians on both sides. The EFF and the ACLU oppose these laws. So does NetChoice,
a tech-industry trade group led by former Google lobbyists. The coalition that wrote
AB 1043 is bipartisan, well-funded, and weirder than any simple political narrative
can contain.
</p>
</div>
</div>
</section>
<!-- THE RESULT -->
<section>
<div class="container">
<h2>The Result</h2>
<h3>Who Pays and Who Doesn't</h3>
<div class="card red-card">
<p>
The companies that benefit from this law funded the organizations that drafted it.
The legislator who authored it brokered a quarter-billion-dollar deal with the
company whose products it protects. The platforms it ostensibly regulates endorsed it.
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 12px;">
This is not a child safety law. It is a market protection statute with children’s
names on it.
</p>
</div>
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</section>
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<p>Software for humans of indeterminate age.</p>
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<a href="https://agelesslinux.org">agelesslinux.org</a> ·
<a href="https://ffwf.net/contact">Contact: John McCardle / FFwF Robotics LLC</a> ·
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Last updated: March 12, 2026 · SPDX-License-Identifier: Unlicense
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