The U.S. has been quietly building up a set of state-level laws that push operating system providers into the age verification plague.
California’s AB 1043, signed in October 2025, requires OS providers to collect age data at account setup and pipe it to apps through a real-time API. It kicks in on January 1, 2027.
Colorado is working on something nearly identical. SB26-051 (which we covered when it was still a proposal) passed the state Senate 28-7 on March 3, 2026, and is now waiting on a House vote to become law there too.
However, these are just state-level laws. A new federal bill, H.R.8250, introduced on April 13, 2026, by Rep. Josh Gottheimer, with Rep. Elise M. Stefanik signing on as cosponsor, has us intrigued.
I was mostly stuck on the “the only way” part of your comment. In terms of accessibility, I don’t know that the domain method would really be any better - not to mention that it’s limited to Pro/Enterprise Windows editions that most consumers aren’t getting.
The audit mode path is more GUI friendly but, similar to the Domain option, still requires pre-existing knowledge or web search.
Here’s hoping Microsoft actually follows through on loosening this restriction, even though I largely hold the position that basic users’ security benefits from the MS Account setup.