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Oh No! Now A Federal Bill Wants OS-Level Age Verification for Everyone in the USA (itsfoss.com)

submitted 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) by pglpm@lemmy.ca to c/linux@programming.dev

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From the press release [my emphasis]:

Require operating system developers like Apple and Google to verify users’ ages when setting up a new device, rather than relying on self-reported ages.

cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/25834609

The U.S. has been quietly building up a set of state-level laws that push operating system providers into the age verification plague.

California's AB 1043, signed in October 2025, requires OS providers to collect age data at account setup and pipe it to apps through a real-time API. It kicks in on January 1, 2027.

Colorado is working on something nearly identical. SB26-051 (which we covered when it was still a proposal) passed the state Senate 28-7 on March 3, 2026, and is now waiting on a House vote to become law there too.

However, these are just state-level laws. A new federal bill, H.R.8250, introduced on April 13, 2026, by Rep. Josh Gottheimer, with Rep. Elise M. Stefanik signing on as cosponsor, has us intrigued.

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[–] thingsiplay@lemmy.ml 1 points 4 days ago (2 children)

As a European, would it be enough for me to use a distribution that is not from the US? So they would not have to implement age verification at operating system level. All the service (such as Flatpak in example) would still work without verification, right? Can I escape the US law as a European user?

[–] pglpm@lemmy.ca 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Possibly. That's up to your distro. However, consider that EU as well is starting to speak about age verification. It's quite clear that the whole "West" aspires to be more like Russia and China.

[–] thingsiplay@lemmy.ml 1 points 3 days ago

That's about the applications, not on operating system level.

[–] starsoaked_lily@lemmy.ml 1 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

if it worked like that an age field wouldn't be in systemd for everyone everywhere because of the california law having passed

it /shouldn't/ work like that, but not enough people and projects seem willing to hold their ground atm