CAADCA Section 1798.99.29(a)-(b) - Legislative findings: best interests of children (interpretive)
Businesses must consider children's best interests — including physical, mental, and emotional well-being — throughout the design, development, and provision of services likely accessed by children
Where this comes from
Provision: Section 1798.99.29(a)-(b) - Legislative findings: best interests of children (interpretive)
Instrument: California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (AB 2273)
Citation: Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.99.29(a)-(b) (findings); the 'compelling reason ... in the best interests of children' qualifier in § 1798.99.31(a)(6), (b)(2)(B)(ii), (b)(3) and (b)(4); AB 2273, Stats. 2022 ch. 320
Text version: Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1798.99.28-1798.99.40 (AB 2273, Stats. 2022 ch. 320; § 1798.99.31 as amended by SB 1525, Stats. 2024 ch. 80, effective 1 January 2025), leginfo.legislature.ca.gov text retrieved 2026-09-21. Partly enjoined: NetChoice, LLC v. Bonta, No. 25-2366 (9th Cir. 12 Mar. 2026) — see confidenceNotes.
Who it applies to
Child audience (designed for OR likely accessed by children) — any one of these:
- Service is specifically designed for children under 18
- Service is likely to be accessed by children under 18
Remaining applicability scope — all of these:
- Youngest user age is Under 13, 13-15 or 16-17
- Service uses content personalization
What engineering work it implies
Sample acceptance criteria Landfall generates for this obligation:
- High-privacy / high-safety settings are the default for users who are or may be children
- Nudges and engagement patterns that are detrimental to children are removed or off by default
- Geolocation, public visibility, and contact-by-strangers are off by default for minors
- Design decisions affecting children are documented with their rationale
- A newly created minor account has high-privacy defaults
Questions people ask
- Does CAADCA Section 1798.99.29(a)-(b) - Legislative findings: best interests of ch… apply to my service?
- It applies when at least one of: Service is specifically designed for children under 18; Service is likely to be accessed by children under 18; and Youngest user age is Under 13, 13-15 or 16-17; Service uses content personalization.
- From when does this apply?
- CAADCA Section 1798.99.29(a)-(b) - Legislative findings: best interests of ch… applies from 1 July 2024. Its current status is: in force.
Find out whether this one lands on you
Landfall's pre-scan answers the applicability question above for your product in minutes, then turns every obligation that applies into traceable engineering tickets with a citation chain your auditors can follow.
Not legal advice. Landfall maps regulatory obligations to engineering work for planning purposes. Its verdicts are not legal advice and create no attorney-client relationship — verify with qualified counsel before relying on them.