266 lines
14 KiB
Markdown
266 lines
14 KiB
Markdown
# Colorado General Assembly Witness & Testimony Findings
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## Age Verification / Social Media Bills (2025-2026)
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Research date: 2026-03-12
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---
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## 1. Bills Investigated
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### SB26-051 - Age Attestation on Computing Devices
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- **Session:** 2026 Regular Session (75th General Assembly, 2nd Regular)
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- **Sponsors:** Sen. Matt Ball (D), Rep. Amy Paschal (D)
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- **Committee:** Senate Business, Labor & Technology
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- **Hearing date:** February 24, 2026, 2:00 PM MT, SCR 352
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- **Committee action:** Amendment L.001 adopted; referred to Committee of the Whole with consent calendar recommendation (5-0 vote)
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- **Senate passage:** Third reading, March 3, 2026
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- **Summary:** Requires OS providers to collect age/birthdate during account setup and expose an "age signal" API (brackets: under 13, 13-16, 16-18, 18+) that app developers can query at download or launch time.
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- **Bill page:** https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/SB26-051
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- **Hearing summary (redirect):** https://content.leg.colorado.gov/content/02bf0778c7b689f8872586bd005e7e2e-hearing-summary
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### SB25-086 - Protections for Users of Social Media
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- **Session:** 2025 Regular Session
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- **Committee hearings:**
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- Senate Judiciary Committee, Feb 19, 2025 (referred 6-1, five amendments adopted)
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- House Health & Human Services Committee, Mar 12, 2025 (referred unamended, 11-2)
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- **Final status:** Vetoed by Governor Polis, April 24, 2025
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- **Summary:** Required social media platforms with 1M+ monthly users to provide streamlined law enforcement contact process and comply with search warrants within 72 hours.
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- **Bill page:** https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/SB25-086
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### HB25-1287 - Social Media Tools for Minor Users & Parents
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- **Session:** 2025 Regular Session
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- **Sponsors:** Rep. Jarvis Caldwell (R-Monument), Rep. Meghan Lukens (D-Steamboat Springs)
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- **Committee hearings:**
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- House Health & Human Services Committee, April 2, 2025
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- House Appropriations Committee, May 13, 2025 (Lay Over Unamended - Amendments Failed)
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- **Summary:** Required social media companies to determine if users are minors, offer time limits, disable algorithmic recommendations for minors, and provide parental supervisory tools.
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- **Bill page:** https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/HB25-1287
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---
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## 2. Witness Lists Extracted
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### SB25-086 - Senate Judiciary Committee (Feb 19, 2025)
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**In Support:**
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- Chelsea Congdon (individual)
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- Aaron Ping (Blue Rising)
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- Alden Globe (individual)
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- Meta Osborne (individual) [Note: "Meta" is the witness first name, not the company]
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- Brian Mason (District Attorney, 17th Judicial District)
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- Toni Sarge (Colorado Children's Campaign)
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- Adam Shore (Colorado Ceasefire)
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- Juan Colorado (individual)
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- Charlotte DeGraff (individual)
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- Laura Marquez-Garrett (Social Media Victims Law Center)
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- Nathan Quails (individual)
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- Mary-Elizabeth Callaway (individual)
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- Melissa Burkhart (individual)
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- Jason McBride (McBride Impact)
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- Warren Binford (Kempe Foundation)
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- Dr. Denise Abdoo (Children's Hospital Colorado)
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- Evie Hudak (Colorado PTA)
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- Jessica Dotter (Colorado District Attorneys' Council)
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- Jeff Riester (Department of Law)
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- Dawn Reinfeld (Blue Rising)
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- Antonia Merzon (Blue Rising)
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**In Opposition:**
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- Hannah Goodman (Libertarian Party of Colorado)
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- Jacob Luria (individual)
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- Michael McReynolds (Governor's Office of Information Technology)
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- Braden Peltz (individual)
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- Patrick Hedger (NetChoice)
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- Krystyn Hartman (individual)
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- Valerie Leal (individual)
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- Dr. Michal Luria (Center for Democracy & Technology)
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**To Amend:**
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- Ruthie Barko (TechNet)
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- Anaya Robinson (ACLU of Colorado)
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- Tash Berwick (New Era Colorado)
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**Neutral:**
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- Katie Paul (Tech Transparency Project)
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### SB25-086 - House Health & Human Services Committee (Mar 12, 2025)
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**In Support:**
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- Meta Osborne (individual)
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- Alden Globe (Blue Rising)
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- Matt Riviere (individual)
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- Martin Ping (individual)
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- Alex Radz (individual)
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- Jason McBride (individual)
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- Toni Sarge (Colorado Children's Campaign)
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- Gordon McLaughlin (Colorado District Attorneys Council)
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- Michael Dougherty (District Attorney)
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- Warren Binford (Kempe Foundation)
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- Adam Shore (Colorado Ceasefire)
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- Suzanne Ridenhour (individual)
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- Gabby Ridenhour (individual)
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- Denise Abdoo (Children's Hospital Colorado)
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- Evie Hudak (Colorado PTA)
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- Ken Herrmann (individual)
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- Sam Larson (individual)
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- Mary-Liz Callaway (individual)
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- Cameron Snyder (individual)
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- Heather Somervill (individual)
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- Kelly Murphy (individual)
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- Anna Segur (individual)
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- Melissa Burkhart (individual)
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- Jeffrey Riester (Department of Law)
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- Dawn Reinfeld (Blue Rising)
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- Antonia Merzon (Blue Rising)
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- Jessica Dotter (Colorado District Attorneys' Council)
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**In Opposition:**
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- Tash Berwick (ACLU of Colorado)
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- Michael McReynolds (Governor's Office of Information Technology)
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- Krystyn Hartman (individual)
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- Kouri Marshall (Chamber of Progress)
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- Ruthie Barko (TechNet)
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**Requesting Amendments:**
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- Kiyana Newell (New Era Colorado)
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- Vanessa Rutledge (Independence Institute)
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**Neutral:**
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- Katie Paul (Tech Transparency Project)
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**Additional written testimony:** Referenced as Attachment G in hearing summary.
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### SB26-051 - Senate Business, Labor & Technology (Feb 24, 2026)
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**Partial witness list** (from news coverage; full hearing summary could not be retrieved):
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- Kim Osterman (parent/individual) - testified in support; spoke about her son Max who died after buying a fentanyl-laced pill from a Snapchat dealer
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- Julie Dawson (Age Verification Providers Association) - noted the bill concerns age attestation/self-declaration rather than true verification
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The full hearing summary is available at the Colorado General Assembly website but could not be fully extracted during this research session.
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### HB25-1287 - House Health & Human Services (Apr 2, 2025)
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Full witness list could not be retrieved. The hearing summary page redirects to content.leg.colorado.gov.
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---
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## 3. Key Entity Analysis
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### Digital Childhood Alliance (DCA)
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- **Type:** 501(c)(4) nonprofit (political advocacy; not required to disclose donors)
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- **Executive Director:** Casey Stefanski
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- **Chair/Founder:** Melissa McKay (also founded Digital Childhood Institute, 501(c)(3) research arm)
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- **Coalition size:** Claims 70-100+ child advocacy organizations
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- **Core legislative agenda:** App Store Accountability Act (ASAA)
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- **States where ASAA has passed:** Utah, Texas, Louisiana
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- **States with active ASAA efforts:** ~20 states including Alabama, Kansas, Arizona, Ohio, South Carolina
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**DCA in Colorado testimony:** No direct evidence found of DCA/Casey Stefanski/Melissa McKay appearing on the extracted Colorado witness lists for SB25-086, HB25-1287, or SB26-051.
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### Meta / Meta Platforms
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- **Relationship to DCA:** Multiple investigative reports have established that Meta is funding the Digital Childhood Alliance, though neither entity has publicly confirmed specifics.
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- Louisiana Senate Finance Committee: Casey Stefanski admitted DCA receives tech company funding but refused to name which companies.
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- Deseret News (Dec 7, 2025): Reported Meta "quietly funded" the DCA.
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- Insurance Journal / Bloomberg (Jul 25, 2025): Reported Meta is "helping to fund" the DCA.
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- **Colorado lobbying:** Headwaters Strategies (Denver-based lobbying firm) lists Meta as a client.
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- **Strategic interest:** Meta supports shifting age verification responsibility from individual apps/platforms to app stores and operating systems.
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- **Meta on Colorado witness lists:** No "Meta Platforms" or "Meta" (the company) testimony was found on the extracted SB25-086 witness lists. Note: "Meta Osborne" appears as an individual witness (first name "Meta").
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### Headwaters Strategies
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- **Type:** Colorado-based lobbying/public affairs firm (founded 2009)
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- **Principals:** Will Coyne, Adam Eichberg, Aly Schmidt
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- **Confirmed client:** Meta is listed on Headwaters Strategies public client roster.
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- **Other notable clients:** Airbnb, Tesla, Total Wine, Vivid Seats, City of Black Hawk
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**Headwaters in Colorado testimony:** No Headwaters Strategies representative was found on the extracted witness lists. As a registered lobbyist firm, Headwaters would typically engage through lobbyist filings rather than public testimony.
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### Casey Stefanski
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- **Role:** Executive Director, Digital Childhood Alliance
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- **Background:** Working in child safety since 2012; experience on Capitol Hill
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- **Known testimony:** Louisiana Senate Finance Committee (pressed about tech funding, refused to name funders)
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- **Colorado testimony:** No evidence found of Stefanski testifying before Colorado General Assembly committees on any of the three bills investigated.
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### Melissa McKay
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- **Role:** Founder/Chair, Digital Childhood Alliance; Founder/President, Digital Childhood Institute
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- **Background:** Utah mother of five; began child safety advocacy in 2017; helped draft Utah App Store Accountability Act
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- **Also:** Listed as team member at Family Policy Alliance
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- **Known advocacy:** FTC workshop testimony; meetings with FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson; filed FTC complaints against Apple and Google
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- **Colorado testimony:** No evidence found of McKay testifying before Colorado General Assembly committees on any of the three bills investigated.
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---
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## 4. Coordination Analysis
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### DCA and Meta testifying on same Colorado bills
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**Finding: NOT CONFIRMED for Colorado.** Neither DCA/Stefanski/McKay nor Meta Platforms (as company) appeared on the extracted Colorado witness lists. However:
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- Meta has a Colorado lobbyist (Headwaters Strategies) that could represent its interests on these bills through lobbyist filings.
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- The DCA ASAA model has been introduced in ~20 states, but Colorado approach in SB26-051 takes a different tack (OS-level attestation rather than app-store-level verification).
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### DCA and Headwaters appearing together
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**Finding: NOT CONFIRMED.** No evidence was found of DCA representatives and Headwaters Strategies representatives appearing together at Colorado hearings.
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### Broader coordination pattern (nationally)
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**Finding: ESTABLISHED by investigative reporting, but not specifically proven in Colorado.**
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- Meta funds DCA (confirmed by multiple investigative reports; partially admitted by Stefanski in Louisiana testimony).
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- Meta uses Headwaters Strategies as its Colorado lobbying firm.
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- DCA promotes legislation (ASAA) that serves Meta strategic interest of shifting age verification responsibility to app stores (Apple/Google) rather than individual platforms.
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- SB26-051 similarly shifts responsibility to OS providers -- a position Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has publicly endorsed.
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### The strategic alignment
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- Meta interest: Avoid platform-level age verification obligations.
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- DCA agenda: App store / OS-level age verification (shifts burden to Apple and Google).
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- SB26-051 approach: OS-level age attestation (shifts burden to Apple, Google, Microsoft, etc.).
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- SB25-086: Platform-level obligations (require social media companies to respond to law enforcement) -- Meta would likely OPPOSE.
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- HB25-1287: Platform-level obligations (require social media companies to protect minors) -- Meta would likely OPPOSE.
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---
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## 5. Data Gaps & Recommended Follow-Up
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1. **SB26-051 full witness list:** The hearing summary page could not be fully parsed. Obtain directly from Colorado General Assembly website or committee hearing video/audio.
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2. **HB25-1287 witness list:** Same issue -- hearing summary page could not be fully retrieved.
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3. **Lobbyist filings:** Colorado Capitol Watch pages for SB25-086, HB25-1287, and SB26-051 lobbyist filings could not be accessed. These would show whether Headwaters Strategies (representing Meta) filed a position on any of these bills.
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4. **Colorado Secretary of State lobbyist database:** Direct search at https://www.sos.state.co.us/lobby/SearchLobbyist.do would reveal Meta registered Colorado lobbyists.
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5. **Written testimony (Attachment G):** The SB25-086 House hearing referenced additional written testimony not retrieved.
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6. **Committee hearing recordings:** Reviewing the SB26-051 Feb 24, 2026 recording would reveal the complete testimony.
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---
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## 6. Key Sources
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### Official legislative records
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- SB26-051 bill page: https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/SB26-051
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- SB25-086 bill page: https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/SB25-086
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- HB25-1287 bill page: https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/HB25-1287
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- SB25-086 Senate Judiciary hearing summary: https://leg.colorado.gov/committee_meeting_hearing_summary/1114
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- SB25-086 House HHS hearing summary: https://leg.colorado.gov/committee_meeting_hearing_summary/1859
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- Colorado SOS lobbyist search: https://www.sos.state.co.us/lobby/SearchLobbyist.do
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### Lobbyist filings (not fully accessed)
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- SB25-086 lobbyists: https://app.coloradocapitolwatch.com/lobbyists/1/SB25-086/2025/1/
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- HB25-1287 lobbyists: https://app.coloradocapitolwatch.com/lobbyists/1/HB25-1287/2025/0/
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### Investigative reporting on DCA-Meta relationship
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- Deseret News (Dec 7, 2025): https://www.deseret.com/opinion/2025/12/07/child-safety-bill-backed-by-meta/
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- Insurance Journal / Bloomberg (Jul 25, 2025): https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2025/07/25/833246.htm
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- The Center Square (Louisiana): https://www.thecentersquare.com/louisiana/article_e97200f8-13d0-4b1f-90a9-e9a7093d329f.html
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- Pluribus News: https://pluribusnews.com/news-and-events/meta-lobbies-for-app-store-age-verification-laws/
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- CyberScoop: https://cyberscoop.com/digital-childhood-institute-files-ftc-complaint-against-google-online-safety/
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- TechPolicy.Press: https://www.techpolicy.press/the-drive-for-age-assurance-is-turning-app-stores-into-childhood-regulators/
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### Headwaters Strategies
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- Client list: https://headwatersstrategies.com/our-clients/
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- Team: https://headwatersstrategies.com/our-team/
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### Other bill analysis
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- ComplianceHub (SB26-051): https://compliancehub.wiki/breaking-colorado-bill-would-require-age-verification-at-the-os-level-and-zuckerberg-already-handed-lawmakers-the-blueprint/
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- NetChoice testimony on SB25-086: https://netchoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/NetChoice-Testimony-Colorado-SB-25-086-Patrick-Hedger.pdf
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- Rocky Mountain Voice (SB26-051): https://rockymountainvoice.com/2026/03/09/colorado-bill-would-require-devices-to-signal-when-users-are-minors/
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