California's Age Verification Law May End Up Exempting Most Linux Distributions
California's Age Verification Law may soon exempt most Linux distributions from its requirements. The proposed AB-1856 is under review and aims to clarify the definition of operating system providers. If passed, it would alleviate concerns for many open-source OSes while still impacting proprietary platforms like SteamOS.
- ▪AB-1856 is currently undergoing committee reviews and could be voted on by the California State Legislature in June.
- ▪The law aims to exempt most Linux distributions from California's age verification law.
- ▪Proprietary platforms like Valve's SteamOS may still be affected by the original law.
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California's Age Verification Law May End Up Exempting Most Linux Distributions Written by Michael Larabel in Free Software on 25 May 2026 at 05:58 AM EDT. Add A Comment While not as good as repealing AB 1043 outright for requiring operating system providers to ask for a user's age or birth date at device setup, open-source Linux distributions and other open-source OSes may end up seeing some reprieve before this law goes into effect at the start of 2027. AB-1856 is currently undergoing committee reviews and could be voted on by the California State Legislature in June. AB-1856 makes some important adjustments to exempt most Linux distributions from being affected by California's age verification law.
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