Law / United States / 
California
Browser opt-out preference signal (AB 566)
Cal. Civ. Code section 1798.136
A data subject rights rule binding private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Data subject rights, Disclosure
As of .
What it requires
- This duty is enacted and binds from . If you develop or maintain a browser, include functionality a consumer can configure that lets the browser send an opt-out preference signal to the businesses the consumer interacts with through it (section 1798.136(a)(1)).
- Make that functionality easy for a reasonable person to locate and configure (section 1798.136(a)(2)).
- Make clear to a consumer in your public disclosures how the opt-out preference signal works and what effect it is intended to have (section 1798.136(b)).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
If you get it wrong
Private right of actionNo
Penalty structure
Section 1798.155(a): a business, service provider, contractor or other person that violates the title is liable for an administrative fine of not more than $2,500 for each violation or $7,500 for each intentional violation or violation involving the personal information of consumers the person has actual knowledge are under 16 years of age, as adjusted for inflation. The Agency's adjustment raised the two figures to $2,663 and $7,988, and the higher figure is recorded as per_violation_amount.
- Rule
- Per violation only
- As of
- Currency
- USD
- Per violation unit
- Violation
- Per violation amount
- 7,988
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
California Privacy Protection Agency, in an administrative enforcement action under Civil Code section 1798.155(a).
What this law does
Civil Code section 1798.136 bars a business from developing or maintaining a browser that does not include functionality configurable by a consumer that enables the browser to send an opt-out preference signal. Section 1798.136(a)(2) requires the functionality to be easy for a reasonable person to locate and configure.
Section 1798.136(b) requires a business that develops or maintains a browser to make clear to a consumer in its public disclosures how the opt-out preference signal works and its intended effect. Under section 1798.136(d), a browser business that includes the functionality is not liable for a violation of the title by a business that receives the signal. Civil Code section 1798.136 becomes operative on . AB 566 was approved and chaptered on as Chapter 465 of the Statutes of 2025.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app distributes a software product.