this post was submitted on 27 Feb 2026
181 points (98.4% liked)
Linux
12621 readers
196 users here now
A community for everything relating to the GNU/Linux operating system (except the memes!)
Also, check out:
Original icon base courtesy of lewing@isc.tamu.edu and The GIMP
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
lol no it won't. what are they gonna do, go around the world knocking on doors asking open source devs to include age verification in their Linux distros? the law is completely unenforceable.
It isn't enforceable on the personal level, but every commercial distro will need an implementation (and let's be honest, they will each create their own) to sell pre-installed or to offer service for public and private device fleets.
Let's just add it to systemd
Meh, adding an age question to adduser wouldn't be that bad, we could even replace the current room number question
Can't wait to create all my accounts using the Unix epoch.
And non-commercial distros?
Depends if their non-profit is Californian or how deeply the mechanism is embedded into their base distro (if applicable).
If 0x0@infosec.pub is right and it's done through a simple addition to adduser (and the GUIs) every distro that doesn't actively patch against it, would get it upstream.
If you are a registered entity (even non-profit), you can be fined millions of dollars.
It is a very dumb law.
that's great. hey, why don't you ask the UK how fining foreign entities millions of dollars for not doing age verification is working out for them.
you see, laws only apply if the state has the ability to enforce them using violence. california does not have that ability outside of california. california can chew the bark off my big fat log for all I give a shit about the laws there.
Or if they can firewall them, China style. California probably can't do that, but the UK can.