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CAADCA · CAADCA-9933-AG-ENFORCEMENT

CAADCA Section 1798.99.35(a), (d), (e) - Attorney General enforcement, penalties, no private right of action

The California Attorney General has exclusive enforcement authority over CAADCA, with civil penalties of up to $2,500 per child per negligent violation and $7,500 per child per intentional violation

HIGHRequirementGovernanceBinding regulationIn forceApplies from 1 July 2024

Where this comes from

Provision: Section 1798.99.35(a), (d), (e) - Attorney General enforcement, penalties, no private right of action

Instrument: California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (AB 2273)

Citation: Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.99.35(a), (b), (d) and (e); 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.

Read the official text ↗

Who it applies to

It applies when all of these are true:

  • Service is likely to be accessed by children under 18
  • Youngest user age is Under 13, 13-15 or 16-17
  • Service processes personal data

What engineering work it implies

Sample acceptance criteria Landfall generates for this obligation:

  • Provision recorded in the compliance register with an accountable owner
  • Team briefed on the exposure / penalties and the conditions that trigger them
  • Register entry is flagged for review on any relevant regulatory change

Questions people ask

Does CAADCA Section 1798.99.35(a), (d), (e) - Attorney General enforcement, penalt… apply to my service?
It applies when Service is likely to be accessed by children under 18; Youngest user age is Under 13, 13-15 or 16-17; Service processes personal data.
From when does this apply?
CAADCA Section 1798.99.35(a), (d), (e) - Attorney General enforcement, penalt… 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.

Run the pre-scanAll CAADCA obligations

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.

What Landfall Is NOT

Critical Boundaries

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Interpretations are informational analysis, not legal counsel. Always consult qualified legal professionals for compliance decisions.

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We do not quantify, calculate, or certify your compliance risk level.

No numerical risk rating, compliance percentage, or safety score. Risk assessment requires human judgment about your specific context.

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Does not integrate with your production systems. Does not block, filter, or enforce compliance in real-time. Implementation is your responsibility.

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Documentation of your process is valuable, but does not constitute a legal defense. Compliance is ultimately your organization's responsibility.

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AI-generated interpretations require human review and approval. Automated suggestions are starting points, not final answers.

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We do not cover all regulations, all obligations, or all jurisdictions.

Regulatory landscape is vast and evolving. Gaps in our coverage do not mean those requirements don't apply to you.

What This Tool IS:

  • A structured workflow for mapping regulatory requirements to implementation tasks
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  • An informational resource for understanding regulatory obligations