California lawmakers unanimously pass Linux exemption from age-verification law — software distributed under the GPL, MIT, BSD, and Apache licenses are exempt
www.tomshardware.com
AB 1856 excludes open-source operating systems from the upcoming Digital Age Assurance Act.
    • Souvenir@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      411·
      11 days ago

      Thanks to smart phones, this generation of kids is roughly as tech literate as boomers.

      I wouldn’t get your hopes up.

    • chronicledmonocle@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      10 days ago

      While I’m not the average person, my kids have never known anything but Linux or ChromeOS (because school). They game on SteamOS/Bazzite, they use a Linux laptop at home, and they use Android devices. Everything they use, somewhere inside deep down, is powered by Linux.

  • Evil_Incarnate@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    271·
    11 days ago

    I had a thought, this is done to reduce opposition to age verification. Most people who really care about privacy will use Linux and open source. So now a lot of those will not care about the age verification being thrust on Microsoft/Apple users because it doesn’t affect them.

      • A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.worldEnglish
        4·
        11 days ago

        Aside from, you know, not being able to access anything that looks for that OS okay, or worse…declaring people not on compliance in criminal violation of the law and mass arresting.

  • Willy@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    24·
    11 days ago

    better but still bad. hope it blows up in their faces in ways worse than i can even imagine.

  • puppinstuff@lemmy.caEnglish
    16·
    11 days ago

    I’m glad there are still options.

    Cynical me thinks this might make big software vendors marginalize or demonize these platforms further for not “verifying” their users.

  • myyass@lemmy.worldEnglish
    15·
    11 days ago

    This was never about the children. Besides what does this really accomplish when there’s Roblox?

  • Peacepath@lemmy.worldEnglish
    12·
    11 days ago

    So if you want to protect your kids from adult rated content, and you live in California, you need to buy a propietary system. Which make sure data collectors get to know all about them, and therefore doesn’t protect them… But am I the only one to see the commercial argument about to be used by MS, Apple, and others?

    • mrnngglry@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      10·
      11 days ago

      There are some steps you can take in Linux but there are also steps you can take regardless of OS. Gnome has built in parental controls. I’m not sure about the other DEs but Gnome has something. Browsers have had controls for a long time.

      For those so inclined, you can set up network wide controls via a PiHole instance. If that’s too restrictive, you can pick and choose your kids’ devices to apply the restrictions. That’s what I do. It was super easy. I just update the block list regularly and test it.

      As parents, we need to have some awareness of what our kids do online. I’m all in favor of making it easier for parents to do that and better educating parents on what is available.

      The big guys might advertise their “new parental controls” but I doubt they will be advertising against Linux and open source. I’m sure Apple will have a version of this that is slightly more privacy respecting than Microsoft and maybe they’ll advertise that. They don’t care about Linux though. Not from a competitive standpoint, not yet.

      • Peacepath@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        11 days ago

        I hope you are right.

        Yet do you know if the thing implemented by California would allow criminals to make sure that a kid is really a kid before they attack? Because if that is the case, and even if it needs a hack to do so, it may do the opposit of its aim.

  • Craccoon@lemmy.worldEnglish
    8·
    11 days ago

    Geez. Windows is just getting less and less worth it, even for more mainstream consumers.

  • northendtrooper@lemmy.caEnglish
    31·
    11 days ago

    I’m under the belief the push for Linux to be exempted is because the amount of work that enterprise would have to retrofit their network, server and software applications would be too costly. So once again Capitalism favors itself over the consumer. Just here the consumer gets a taste of what a govt exemption feels like.

  • Fmstrat@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    8 days ago

    The headline shortchanges the exception.

    These amendments redefine the term “operating system provider” to exclude any person or entity that distributes an OS or application “under license terms that permit a recipient to copy, redistribute, and modify the software.” Any software distributed under the GPL, MIT, BSD, and Apache licenses satisfies that test, which removes the likes of Debian, Fedora, Ubuntu, Arch, and the BSD family from AB 1856’s scope.

    This ahould mean an Open Source, encrypted Discord competitor would also not be required to do age checks (i.e. Matrix, etc).

  • 🌞 Alexander Daychilde 🌞@lemmy.worldEnglish
    22·
    11 days ago

    Well, this has the potential to positively impact a project I’m an active part of: Simutrans. Simutrans is FOSS, so if software became required to verify age, it would definitely cause issues for us. So this is potentially some good news.

    While I personally dislike age verification, I’m only a little worried about government overreach. Not totally unconcerned, mind, but I’m not so sure it’ll generally be quite as huge of a deal as some seem to think. But I don’t particularly like it.

    So to me, this is a potential positive step in pushing more to Linux/FOSS, which I think is generally a good thing. And if I’m right and age verification isn’t a huge deal, I still think this is good for that reason. And if some of the more worried folks are correct, then this potentially could be huge.