Pirat_Nation 🔴(@Pirat_Nation):California lawmakers are moving to exempt most Linux distributions from the state’s upcoming age-verification law after backlash from the open-source community. The original law would require operating systems to verify a user’s age during setup and share that information with apps through a built-in system API. Because the wording was broad, many developers believed it could apply to Linux distributions like Ubuntu and Fedora. That led to backlash from developers, who said the rules would be hard for volunteer-run open-source projects to follow. In response, lawmakers introduced changes narrowing the law’s scope and likely exempting most Linux distributions.

2026.05.25 16:00

California lawmakers are moving to exempt most Linux distributions from the state’s upcoming age-verification law after backlash from the open-source community. The original law would require operating systems to verify a user’s age during setup and share that information with apps through a built-in system API. Because the wording was broad, many developers believed it could apply to Linux distributions like Ubuntu and Fedora. That led to backlash from developers, who said the rules would be hard for volunteer-run open-source projects to follow. In response, lawmakers introduced changes narrowing the law’s scope and likely exempting most Linux distributions.