California lawmaker proposes amendment to exempt Linux, open-source operating systems from state's 2027 age-verification law after backlash from developers and privacy advocates; commercial platforms like SteamOS may still face requirements.

California moves to exempt Linux from its upcoming age-verification law after backlash over forcing operating systems to collect users’ ages — amendment proposed by the same lawmaker who wrote the original law

(Image credit: Getty Images) California lawmakers may be backing away from a controversial age-verification requirement bill that alarmed Linux and open-source developers earlier this year, after a new amendment bill proposed exempting most open-source operating systems from the state’s upcoming Digital Age Assurance Act. In practice, that would likely exempt most mainstream Linux distributions — including Debian, Fedora, Ubuntu, Arch Linux, and Mint — from compliance requirements scheduled to t...