Legislative

Colorado General Assembly Witness & Testimony Findings

Colorado General Assembly Witness & Testimony Findings

Age Verification / Social Media Bills (2025-2026)

Research date: 2026-03-12

1. Bills Investigated

SB26-051 - Age Attestation on Computing Devices

  • Session: 2026 Regular Session (75th General Assembly, 2nd Regular)
  • Sponsors: Sen. Matt Ball (D), Rep. Amy Paschal (D)
  • Committee: Senate Business, Labor & Technology
  • Hearing date: February 24, 2026, 2:00 PM MT, SCR 352
  • Committee action: Amendment L.001 adopted; referred to Committee of the Whole with consent calendar recommendation (5-0 vote)
  • Senate passage: Third reading, March 3, 2026
  • 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.
  • Bill page: https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/SB26-051
  • Hearing summary (redirect): https://content.leg.colorado.gov/content/02bf0778c7b689f8872586bd005e7e2e-hearing-summary

SB25-086 - Protections for Users of Social Media

  • Session: 2025 Regular Session
  • Committee hearings:
    • Senate Judiciary Committee, Feb 19, 2025 (referred 6-1, five amendments adopted)
    • House Health & Human Services Committee, Mar 12, 2025 (referred unamended, 11-2)
  • Final status: Vetoed by Governor Polis, April 24, 2025
  • Summary: Required social media platforms with 1M+ monthly users to provide streamlined law enforcement contact process and comply with search warrants within 72 hours.
  • Bill page: https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/SB25-086

HB25-1287 - Social Media Tools for Minor Users & Parents

  • Session: 2025 Regular Session
  • Sponsors: Rep. Jarvis Caldwell (R-Monument), Rep. Meghan Lukens (D-Steamboat Springs)
  • Committee hearings:
    • House Health & Human Services Committee, April 2, 2025
    • House Appropriations Committee, May 13, 2025 (Lay Over Unamended - Amendments Failed)
  • Summary: Required social media companies to determine if users are minors, offer time limits, disable algorithmic recommendations for minors, and provide parental supervisory tools.
  • Bill page: https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/HB25-1287

2. Witness Lists Extracted

SB25-086 - Senate Judiciary Committee (Feb 19, 2025)

In Support:

  • Chelsea Congdon (individual)
  • Aaron Ping (Blue Rising)
  • Alden Globe (individual)
  • Meta Osborne (individual) [Note: “Meta” is the witness first name, not the company]
  • Brian Mason (District Attorney, 17th Judicial District)
  • Toni Sarge (Colorado Children’s Campaign)
  • Adam Shore (Colorado Ceasefire)
  • Juan Colorado (individual)
  • Charlotte DeGraff (individual)
  • Laura Marquez-Garrett (Social Media Victims Law Center)
  • Nathan Quails (individual)
  • Mary-Elizabeth Callaway (individual)
  • Melissa Burkhart (individual)
  • Jason McBride (McBride Impact)
  • Warren Binford (Kempe Foundation)
  • Dr. Denise Abdoo (Children’s Hospital Colorado)
  • Evie Hudak (Colorado PTA)
  • Jessica Dotter (Colorado District Attorneys’ Council)
  • Jeff Riester (Department of Law)
  • Dawn Reinfeld (Blue Rising)
  • Antonia Merzon (Blue Rising)

In Opposition:

  • Hannah Goodman (Libertarian Party of Colorado)
  • Jacob Luria (individual)
  • Michael McReynolds (Governor’s Office of Information Technology)
  • Braden Peltz (individual)
  • Patrick Hedger (NetChoice)
  • Krystyn Hartman (individual)
  • Valerie Leal (individual)
  • Dr. Michal Luria (Center for Democracy & Technology)

To Amend:

  • Ruthie Barko (TechNet)
  • Anaya Robinson (ACLU of Colorado)
  • Tash Berwick (New Era Colorado)

Neutral:

  • Katie Paul (Tech Transparency Project)

SB25-086 - House Health & Human Services Committee (Mar 12, 2025)

In Support:

  • Meta Osborne (individual)
  • Alden Globe (Blue Rising)
  • Matt Riviere (individual)
  • Martin Ping (individual)
  • Alex Radz (individual)
  • Jason McBride (individual)
  • Toni Sarge (Colorado Children’s Campaign)
  • Gordon McLaughlin (Colorado District Attorneys Council)
  • Michael Dougherty (District Attorney)
  • Warren Binford (Kempe Foundation)
  • Adam Shore (Colorado Ceasefire)
  • Suzanne Ridenhour (individual)
  • Gabby Ridenhour (individual)
  • Denise Abdoo (Children’s Hospital Colorado)
  • Evie Hudak (Colorado PTA)
  • Ken Herrmann (individual)
  • Sam Larson (individual)
  • Mary-Liz Callaway (individual)
  • Cameron Snyder (individual)
  • Heather Somervill (individual)
  • Kelly Murphy (individual)
  • Anna Segur (individual)
  • Melissa Burkhart (individual)
  • Jeffrey Riester (Department of Law)
  • Dawn Reinfeld (Blue Rising)
  • Antonia Merzon (Blue Rising)
  • Jessica Dotter (Colorado District Attorneys’ Council)

In Opposition:

  • Tash Berwick (ACLU of Colorado)
  • Michael McReynolds (Governor’s Office of Information Technology)
  • Krystyn Hartman (individual)
  • Kouri Marshall (Chamber of Progress)
  • Ruthie Barko (TechNet)

Requesting Amendments:

  • Kiyana Newell (New Era Colorado)
  • Vanessa Rutledge (Independence Institute)

Neutral:

  • Katie Paul (Tech Transparency Project)

Additional written testimony: Referenced as Attachment G in hearing summary.

SB26-051 - Senate Business, Labor & Technology (Feb 24, 2026)

Partial witness list (from news coverage; full hearing summary could not be retrieved):

  • Kim Osterman (parent/individual) - testified in support; spoke about her son Max who died after buying a fentanyl-laced pill from a Snapchat dealer
  • Julie Dawson (Age Verification Providers Association) - noted the bill concerns age attestation/self-declaration rather than true verification

The full hearing summary is available at the Colorado General Assembly website but could not be fully extracted during this research session.

HB25-1287 - House Health & Human Services (Apr 2, 2025)

Full witness list could not be retrieved. The hearing summary page redirects to content.leg.colorado.gov.

3. Key Entity Analysis

Digital Childhood Alliance (DCA)

  • Type: 501(c)(4) nonprofit (political advocacy; not required to disclose donors)
  • Executive Director: Casey Stefanski
  • Chair/Founder: Melissa McKay (also founded Digital Childhood Institute, 501(c)(3) research arm)
  • Coalition size: Claims 70-100+ child advocacy organizations
  • Core legislative agenda: App Store Accountability Act (ASAA)
  • States where ASAA has passed: Utah, Texas, Louisiana
  • States with active ASAA efforts: ~20 states including Alabama, Kansas, Arizona, Ohio, South Carolina

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.

Meta / Meta Platforms

  • Relationship to DCA: Multiple investigative reports have established that Meta is funding the Digital Childhood Alliance, though neither entity has publicly confirmed specifics.

    • Louisiana Senate Finance Committee: Casey Stefanski admitted DCA receives tech company funding but refused to name which companies.
    • Deseret News (Dec 7, 2025): Reported Meta “quietly funded” the DCA.
    • Insurance Journal / Bloomberg (Jul 25, 2025): Reported Meta is “helping to fund” the DCA.

  • Colorado lobbying: Headwaters Strategies (Denver-based lobbying firm) lists Meta as a client.

  • Strategic interest: Meta supports shifting age verification responsibility from individual apps/platforms to app stores and operating systems.

  • 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”).

Headwaters Strategies

  • Type: Colorado-based lobbying/public affairs firm (founded 2009)
  • Principals: Will Coyne, Adam Eichberg, Aly Schmidt
  • Confirmed client: Meta is listed on Headwaters Strategies public client roster.
  • Other notable clients: Airbnb, Tesla, Total Wine, Vivid Seats, City of Black Hawk

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.

Casey Stefanski

  • Role: Executive Director, Digital Childhood Alliance
  • Background: Working in child safety since 2012; experience on Capitol Hill
  • Known testimony: Louisiana Senate Finance Committee (pressed about tech funding, refused to name funders)
  • Colorado testimony: No evidence found of Stefanski testifying before Colorado General Assembly committees on any of the three bills investigated.

Melissa McKay

  • Role: Founder/Chair, Digital Childhood Alliance; Founder/President, Digital Childhood Institute
  • Background: Utah mother of five; began child safety advocacy in 2017; helped draft Utah App Store Accountability Act
  • Also: Listed as team member at Family Policy Alliance
  • Known advocacy: FTC workshop testimony; meetings with FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson; filed FTC complaints against Apple and Google
  • Colorado testimony: No evidence found of McKay testifying before Colorado General Assembly committees on any of the three bills investigated.

4. Coordination Analysis

DCA and Meta testifying on same Colorado bills

Finding: NOT CONFIRMED for Colorado. Neither DCA/Stefanski/McKay nor Meta Platforms (as company) appeared on the extracted Colorado witness lists. However:

  • Meta has a Colorado lobbyist (Headwaters Strategies) that could represent its interests on these bills through lobbyist filings.
  • 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).

DCA and Headwaters appearing together

Finding: NOT CONFIRMED. No evidence was found of DCA representatives and Headwaters Strategies representatives appearing together at Colorado hearings.

Broader coordination pattern (nationally)

Finding: ESTABLISHED by investigative reporting, but not specifically proven in Colorado.

  • Meta funds DCA (confirmed by multiple investigative reports; partially admitted by Stefanski in Louisiana testimony).
  • Meta uses Headwaters Strategies as its Colorado lobbying firm.
  • DCA promotes legislation (ASAA) that serves Meta strategic interest of shifting age verification responsibility to app stores (Apple/Google) rather than individual platforms.
  • SB26-051 similarly shifts responsibility to OS providers - a position Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has publicly endorsed.

The strategic alignment

  • Meta interest: Avoid platform-level age verification obligations.
  • DCA agenda: App store / OS-level age verification (shifts burden to Apple and Google).
  • SB26-051 approach: OS-level age attestation (shifts burden to Apple, Google, Microsoft, etc.).
  • SB25-086: Platform-level obligations (require social media companies to respond to law enforcement) - Meta would likely OPPOSE.
  • HB25-1287: Platform-level obligations (require social media companies to protect minors) - Meta would likely OPPOSE.

5. Data Gaps & Recommended Follow-Up

  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.

  2. HB25-1287 witness list: Same issue - hearing summary page could not be fully retrieved.

  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.

  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.

  5. Written testimony (Attachment G): The SB25-086 House hearing referenced additional written testimony not retrieved.

  6. Committee hearing recordings: Reviewing the SB26-051 Feb 24, 2026 recording would reveal the complete testimony.

6. Key Sources

Official legislative records

Lobbyist filings (not fully accessed)

Investigative reporting on DCA-Meta relationship

Headwaters Strategies

Other bill analysis