While multiple jurisdictions have begun pushing for stricter, controversial age-verification rules for online users, California lawmakers are considering possible exemptions.
According to multiple media reports, Californians are discussing amendments to the already-passed, controversial Digital Age Assurance Act that would exempt most open-source operating systems from age-verification requirements.
If confirmed, this would mean that distributions of the Linux operating system, such as Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and others, would not be obliged to comply with new requirements expected to come into force on January 1st, 2027.
However, if these amendments are blocked, it would mean that teams behind all operating systems would need to check a user's age when setting up a device so the system can apply age-based restrictions to specific apps and app stores. While centrally controlled operating systems might find it easier to comply, how to enforce this regulation on open-source platforms remains an open question.
Now, the amendments introduced in February this year say that "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. This is exactly how an open-source operating system works.
According to Tom's Hardware, the latest version of the bill is dated May 18th and has already been read a second time. Phoronix reports that the bill is now being discussed in committees and could be voted on by the California State Legislature in June.
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Meanwhile, in the UK and the EU, debates regarding stricter age-verification rules are ongoing. For example, the European Commission (EC) has developed an age verification solution that should help users prove they meet age thresholds without revealing their identity, exact birth date, or other personal data.
However, after it was released, security researchers managed to bypass the solution in less than 2 minutes, forcing the Commission to acknowledge that it was only a demo version.
Critics of all these age verification rules warn that they might become a gateway to mass surveillance by normalizing identity checks while browsing, creating centralized targets for identity theft. For example, as a next step, the EC has already started targeting VPN providers.
"As predicted: someone decides that age verification is the best way to protect children – this starts with mandatory age verification (for everyone!) and ends with banning VPNs and massive blocking. The slippery slope experts have been warning about," Bart Preneel, cryptography and privacy professor, said earlier in May.
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