California's Digital Age Assurance Act is due to take effect at the very start of 2027, bringing in sweeping age-verification checks by system providers. As part of it, operating systems will have to do age checks on users to lock down certain functions, which had led some Linux developers to go full crisis mode in response. Well, good news, the Assembly Bill 1856 amendment has just passed and it exempts open-source operating systems from compliance.
As reported by Tom's Hardware, the amendment passed with a 39-0 vote. The wording on the Linux passage is curious. It specifically precludes a "person or entity that distributes an operating system or application under license terms that permit a recipient to copy, redistribute, and modify the software" from being called an "operating system provider." That means Linux users will get away without verifying age on somewhat of a definitional technicality.
The amendment also ensures that operating system providers acquire "only the minimum amount of information necessary to comply" with the age check, and therefore this should stop providers from acquiring more information on users, or even spying on users for their own benefit, any more than necessary through the guise of Californian law.
Though Linux and its many distros will be exempt from the law, it's not too clear yet if Valve's SteamOS is. SteamOS is a Linux-based OS built on Arch, but it also has proprietary elements, which means one can't copy, redistribute, and modify it. Even if SteamOS is exempt, you will still have to verify your age via Steam on your Steam Machine or Steam Deck if you want to play certain games.
Affected operating systems included Windows, Android, macOS, and iOS. The bill was originally introduced back in February and at that time was deemed to include Linux, but it looks like the authorities saw sense before it passed. Ensuring these checks could've been immensely damaging to the use of open source operating systems in the state, not the least bit Silicon Valley.
The last few years have seen all manner of age checks roll out. Discord preemptively agreed to age verification checks, but clarified many wouldn't have to, as it already has the information necessary to verify ages. That's somewhat worrying, but it does mean not having to give your ID or face to the company.
And with Discord's rollout having ties to Palantir, and no one particularly liking the idea of giving their information to the government, there's already quite a lot of cynicism around digital age checks. Earlier this year, the UK's Online Safety Act came into full force, even requiring me to verify my age on my phone to get full access.
Linux's user base has been growing off the back of Microsoft's many failures, and getting around age verification checks is just one more step for the OS. It seems 2026 may have finally been the year of the Linux, but who said it can't have two years in a row?
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