California Bill Would Exempt Open‑Source Linux From State Age‑Verification Rule
The amendment narrows who must collect age data by excluding software that users can copy and modify which could leave proprietary and hybrid platforms subject to the original law.
Overview
- A proposed amendment, AB 1856, would exempt operating systems distributed under licenses that allow copying, redistribution and modification, a change that would likely free mainstream Linux distributions from compliance.
- The amendment does not repeal the Digital Age Assurance Act (AB 1043) so the law’s core requirement to collect age during setup and provide an 'age bracket' signal remains in place for covered providers.
- Privacy groups and many developers have warned that AB 1043 could enable invasive tracking and that enforcing OS‑level checks would be hard for forkable open‑source projects.
- Hybrid or commercial Linux‑based platforms that include proprietary app stores or clients, such as Valve’s SteamOS, could still fall under the law because the exemption is tied to licensing and distribution, not the underlying codebase.
- The amendment is actively moving through the California legislature with lawmakers and stakeholders still debating how enforcement, edge cases and privacy protections will work before AB 1043 takes effect on January 1, 2027.