- Joined
- Jan 20, 2026
- Messages
- 345
- Reaction score
- 2,459
California hastily withdraws open source from age verification law.
The California Age Verification Act has nearly turned into a headache for Linux, FreeBSD developers and other open systems. The authors of the amendments are now trying to get open source out of the new requirements so that the distributions do not force users to specify the date of birth when installing or the first launch.
We are talking about the Digital Age Assurance Act, known as AB 1043. California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the document in October last year. The norm introduces responsibilities for operating systems providers, app store owners and software developers. Distributors of the OS should add when you configure an available interface through which the user can specify the date of birth, age or both parameters at once.
The law will begin on January 1, 2027. AB 1043, member of the Assembly of Buffy Weeks and Senator Tom Umberg, explain the initiative to protect children from online risks, including cyberbullying, sexual extortion and mental health rubble.
After the signing of AB 1043, Buffy Weeks introduced a separate bill AB 1856, which changes the already adopted norm. The most important editorial for an open source appeared on May 18, 2026. The text has a reservation: a provider of the operating system is not considered to be a person or organization distributing the OS or application under a license that allows the recipient to copy, redistribute and modify the program.
If the amendment is accepted, Linux distribution providers, FreeBSD and other open projects will be able to not integrate age checking into the installation and launch of the system. The question of hybrid products remains unclear. For example, SteamOS is based on Linux, but Valve supplies a proprietary Steam client together with the system, so a direct response for similar products from the text does not follow.
The risk for open projects was not theoretical. MidnightBSD in February briefly added to the license item prohibiting California residents from using the operating system. The following month, the developers began to study the age verification mechanism, as the law could require a technical solution for users from the state.
The electronic Frontier Foundation criticized AB 1043 for shifting censorship responsibilities to app developers. According to EFF, such rules harm freedom of expression, digital rights, privacy and the development of open platforms, and at the same time strengthen the position of large manufacturers of operating systems and devices.
California is not the only state where authorities introduce age barriers on the Internet. The United States has already adopted at least 25 age verification laws, and the rule of West Virginia should begin to operate next month. Colorado lawmakers approved their own bill, which is awaiting the governor’s decision. The head of System76, Carl Richell, said that the Colorado text contains exceptions for open operating systems, applications, code and container repositories.
Economists and lawyers doubt that a mass check of age will solve the alleged problem. George Ford, chief economist at the Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal and Economic Public Policy Studies, работе для SSRNsaid that motivated teenagers will be able to circumvent restrictions through VPNs, as school filters are already bypassing. At the same time, adult users will face additional barriers when accessing legitimate content.
Eric Goldman, a professor of law at the University of Santa Clara, separately disassembled how age verification affects the attendance of sites. Some users refuse to undergo identity confirmation, and the indicator of refusal at individual sites can reach up to 99%. After the U.S. Supreme Court position in the Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton courts may not consider the high level of refusals to be a constitutionally significant factor, even if checking documents makes the Internet less free and more expensive for the average user.
The main money issue doesn’t go anywhere. Centralized age checking will not be free, and a small circle of providers of such services can earn on a mandatory procedure. The Association of Agenda Auditors’ Association estimated the future market in OECD countries at about $11.4 billion in annual revenue for 10-15 years. The massive adoption of such laws in the U.S. states only expands the potential market.
The California Age Verification Act has nearly turned into a headache for Linux, FreeBSD developers and other open systems. The authors of the amendments are now trying to get open source out of the new requirements so that the distributions do not force users to specify the date of birth when installing or the first launch.
We are talking about the Digital Age Assurance Act, known as AB 1043. California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the document in October last year. The norm introduces responsibilities for operating systems providers, app store owners and software developers. Distributors of the OS should add when you configure an available interface through which the user can specify the date of birth, age or both parameters at once.
The law will begin on January 1, 2027. AB 1043, member of the Assembly of Buffy Weeks and Senator Tom Umberg, explain the initiative to protect children from online risks, including cyberbullying, sexual extortion and mental health rubble.
After the signing of AB 1043, Buffy Weeks introduced a separate bill AB 1856, which changes the already adopted norm. The most important editorial for an open source appeared on May 18, 2026. The text has a reservation: a provider of the operating system is not considered to be a person or organization distributing the OS or application under a license that allows the recipient to copy, redistribute and modify the program.
If the amendment is accepted, Linux distribution providers, FreeBSD and other open projects will be able to not integrate age checking into the installation and launch of the system. The question of hybrid products remains unclear. For example, SteamOS is based on Linux, but Valve supplies a proprietary Steam client together with the system, so a direct response for similar products from the text does not follow.
The risk for open projects was not theoretical. MidnightBSD in February briefly added to the license item prohibiting California residents from using the operating system. The following month, the developers began to study the age verification mechanism, as the law could require a technical solution for users from the state.
The electronic Frontier Foundation criticized AB 1043 for shifting censorship responsibilities to app developers. According to EFF, such rules harm freedom of expression, digital rights, privacy and the development of open platforms, and at the same time strengthen the position of large manufacturers of operating systems and devices.
California is not the only state where authorities introduce age barriers on the Internet. The United States has already adopted at least 25 age verification laws, and the rule of West Virginia should begin to operate next month. Colorado lawmakers approved their own bill, which is awaiting the governor’s decision. The head of System76, Carl Richell, said that the Colorado text contains exceptions for open operating systems, applications, code and container repositories.
Economists and lawyers doubt that a mass check of age will solve the alleged problem. George Ford, chief economist at the Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal and Economic Public Policy Studies, работе для SSRNsaid that motivated teenagers will be able to circumvent restrictions through VPNs, as school filters are already bypassing. At the same time, adult users will face additional barriers when accessing legitimate content.
Eric Goldman, a professor of law at the University of Santa Clara, separately disassembled how age verification affects the attendance of sites. Some users refuse to undergo identity confirmation, and the indicator of refusal at individual sites can reach up to 99%. After the U.S. Supreme Court position in the Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton courts may not consider the high level of refusals to be a constitutionally significant factor, even if checking documents makes the Internet less free and more expensive for the average user.
The main money issue doesn’t go anywhere. Centralized age checking will not be free, and a small circle of providers of such services can earn on a mandatory procedure. The Association of Agenda Auditors’ Association estimated the future market in OECD countries at about $11.4 billion in annual revenue for 10-15 years. The massive adoption of such laws in the U.S. states only expands the potential market.
