Bill to force age verification on Linux also to be revised amid barrage of criticism

California’s age-verification law drew backlash from Linux and open-source communities.

A revised bill, AB 1856, would exempt OSes distributed under licenses that allow copying, redistribution, and modification.

The change aims to prevent open-source operating systems from being forced to collect personal data or provide age signals.

The debate now centers on where to draw the line between commercial OS vendors and community-built systems like Linux and SteamOS.