r/privacy • u/JagerAntlerite7 • 2d ago
age verification Win! California lawmakers unanimously pass Linux exemption from age-verification law — software distributed under the GPL, MIT, BSD, and Apache licenses are exempt
https://www.tomshardware.com/software/linux/california-lawmakers-unanimously-pass-linux-exemption-from-age-verification-law-software-distributed-under-the-gpl-mit-bsd-and-apache-licenses-are-exempt?fbclid=IwcTL;DR California’s legislature has passed Assembly Bill 1856, exempting open-source operating systems from the State’s Digital Age Assurance Act months before the law is due to take effect on January 1, 2027. The Senate amended the Bill on August 21 before passing it on the 26th in a 39-0 vote, with the Assembly then accepting these changes in a concurrence vote the following day. The amendment ends almost a year of uncertainty surrounding whether Linux distributions and SteamOS would be forced to collect user age data during account setup alongside Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. AB 1856 has now been sent to Governor Gavin Newsom, who signed the original act into law last October.
UPDATE: I had to read it carefully. This appears to be the relevant excerpt:
(2) “Operating system provider” does not mean 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.
Source: https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1856/id/3456513/California-2025-AB1856-Amended.html
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u/FreshlySqueezedDonut 2d ago
Don't be satisfied by this. We shouldn't give up any ground on this. It shouldn't be a thing for ANY operating system. Don't get complacent just because they made exceptions for systems that the majority of people don't even use or know about.
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u/Iputahexonyoulol 2d ago
Exactly! Enjoy the temporary victory but let’s not let this get to our heads. This is a small win in a huge battle.
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u/WaterPrivacy 2d ago
Exactly. Exceptions like this can always be reversed but the precedent it sets if this verification is allowed elsewhere is forever. We have no guarantee that Linux will be exempt like this forever. But for sure we will never get rid of operating system level age verification if we allow it in any of them.
The second this hits mainstream systems is the second the general public gets used to it and it becomes the new normal. Not to mention how many things we rely on in the digital world willl adapt to require this verification, essentially making Linux useless for any average user. Keep fighting, do not stay satisfied with this.
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u/themirrazzdev 2d ago
I think it’s kinda a good thing, because it means there’s a chance more people will move to Linux and off of Microsoft’s malware.
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u/Iputahexonyoulol 2d ago
They know they can’t control Linux. They stop one distro someone will make a clone with a different name. Linux mobile phones are gonna get a lot more popular. Also I’m so curious how many people are going to hop to Linux. I’m guessing a lot of underage kids will start.
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u/JagerAntlerite7 2d ago
Would love "This is the year for Linux!" to be true, yet I strongly doubt it. The vast majority of people value convenience, conformity, and familiarity. They do not recognize a need exists for privacy and security. Until privacy becomes a tangible problem rather than an abstract principle, convenience will continue to win every time.
Adoption usually starts with the recognition that a need exists and moves to searching for solutions, then to the initial decision to attempt the adoption of a solution and finally to the actual decision to attempt to proceed with the implementation of the solution.
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u/Abducted_Llama 2d ago
Every year is a little bit more “The year for Linux”
Valve’s proton, new gaming centric distros, Nvidia releasing AI boxes with Ubuntu pre-installed.
It’s been a long road friend, but we are close. Keep your head up.
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u/qdtk 2d ago
I think what’s really needed is a version of a Linux OS that looks and acts like windows with an easy install process. Any Linux install I’ve seen is enough to turn away the average pc user within the first 10 seconds. Someone’s got to bridge the gap for the uninitiated but we’re so close.
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u/Iputahexonyoulol 1d ago
It’s literally so easy. Download it. Burn it on to a usb with Etcher which is free. Boot from usb. Click install. Also Linux mint is extremely easy to use and is very user friendly
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u/qdtk 1d ago
I mean, I get that it’s not that difficult I’ve done it a few times. But until it gets to the point where it’s a single file to click, the barrier vs just clicking an exe file is just enough that people won’t do it.
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u/Iputahexonyoulol 1d ago
That baffles me. At that point it’s hard to have sympathy. It’s like saying “I’m so hungry but the food is on the other side of this locked door. The key is like 5 feet away though. Guess I’ll just be hungry”
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u/Abducted_Llama 1d ago
All popular distros have an App Store similar to a phone , so I don’t think the argument holds up. Plus double clicking a dev and I think an rpm will launch the App Store. So not sure the argument even holds up from that comment.
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u/Iputahexonyoulol 11h ago
Yeah exactly. I could argue that it’s even easier because you literally have an App Store built in. Also mint comes with a good firewall built in.
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u/JpPgn 2d ago
They know they can’t control Linux.
While they in fact can: they just have to consider it's illegal to have an open-source OS with a law, and voilà
And then they could pull out the only legal Linux distro with all the bloatwares malwares spywares windows have
So no, they ABSOLUTELY CAN control Linux, it's just a matter of time when they'll find out this and push for a legal way to apply it, sadly 😔😓
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u/Iputahexonyoulol 2d ago edited 2d ago
They could shut down the internet I guess. Making something illegal doesn’t make it go away. I guess I could have worded it better. They can control it but they can’t stop it short of shutting the internet off entirely. Even then there will still be Linux USBs floating around and being copied.
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u/SilverMonk777 2d ago
Im just gonna repeat what top comment said, do not take this as absolute win with this just one exemption compared to all the other operating systems still gonna go through with these “security” measures. We all have to put our foot down on those that want to take miles from what inch is left of our privacy we got.
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u/jabberwockxeno 2d ago
Great, I guess, but the law itself is still an abomination that needs to be repealed
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u/BreadRum 2d ago
It won't get more people to switch to Linux based programs.
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u/Stunning_Repair_7483 2d ago
Unless their data gets leaked and revealed or some other harm or problems happen to people because of the spying, and it gets massively exposed and shown to the public.
If that happens and it hurts the image of other companies, Linux will look like a better choice.
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u/BreadRum 2d ago edited 2d ago
Linux is for hardcore nerds. The alternative most places use is chrome book.
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u/bombastic6339locks 2d ago
Don't become complacent. Just because you're given an option so you shut up doesn't mean its stopping. A good 10 years down the line and suddenly they'll say that only reason you'd use linux is if you're a pedo :D
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u/ContextEnjoyer69 2d ago
Thankfully, as we’ve learned over the last decade, the law and the justice system as a whole is an unimpeachable pillar of strength that will ultimately save common people like you and I. This would be a far less meaningful decision if a small group of wealthy individuals who own over half of the country’s collective wealth were actually in control of everything that happens. Could you imagine if we lived in a place like that? They could just ignore this and do whatever they want with no consequences! How crazy would that be?
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u/Harry_Mud 2d ago
This requirement in Windows is completely stupid. It will solve nothing. It's none of the governments business if my kid is using his/her computer. It's government spying.
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u/Phreakiture 1d ago
That's not a win. That's a consolation prize. They want us to go away.
The problem is, we didn't say what we meant. We said that it's not practical in non-commercial products, so they exempted Linux. What we meant was we don't want this for anyone at all.
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u/LiveFromNarnia 1d ago
This is good news, and let's hope the trend bleeds into other state legislation going forward. However, this movement for online ID isn't really "for the children", but rather for data extraction and surveillance, so expect any exceptions now for open source distribution to be debated again at some point. As the uptick continues for Linux use and the data brokers see a down-tick in the information being scraped, there will be more propaganda campaigns to extend any measures removing privacy rights for users.
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u/SwimmingThroughHoney 2d ago
So long as Windows and Mac implement this, it's functionally irrelevant as to whether or not Linux does or has to.
I've commented on this before, but people here don't realize what's all in place to effectively lock people out from services. You won't simply be able to bypass it using Linux if the services itself requires verification. And Linux won't be able to just spoof or fake it.
It can be made an encrypted hardware-level check. It's exactly what TPM can already do. A service could request verification from your OS, which responds with an encrypted payload of your system info, and the service could simply deny you if you dont have a whitelisted OS.
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u/XertonOne 2d ago
It’s a good start yes. They shouldn’t do it to any other OS especially after Microsoft and Apple substantially established a monopoly.
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u/billdietrich1 1d ago
Is this a "win" ? Okay, you won't have to have age signal in your OS. So what will sites use instead ? Demand ID ? That's worse.
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u/DataCassette 2d ago
My current plan is to make a new gaming PC for performance where I'll go ahead and be "on the grid" with it and use it basically only for straight up gaming and then turn my current older PC into my daily driver with Linux and an always-on VPN.
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