this post was submitted on 27 Feb 2026
354 points (98.4% liked)
Linux
63359 readers
1036 users here now
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
Rules
- Posts must be relevant to operating systems running the Linux kernel. GNU/Linux or otherwise.
- No misinformation
- No NSFW content
- No hate speech, bigotry, etc
Related Communities
Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0
founded 6 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Define "Operating System"...
I guess my washing machine & car are also going to be "not for use in California."
Those Cisco switches & Broadcom DSLAMs would be tricky too ... I guess the internet's "not for use in California."
And the air-gapped power station control system? "not for use in California."
It is annoying that these laws come in (I'm also including magical thinking about encryprion backdoors for "the good guys") without any form of real-world, practical assessment. Complete waste of tax payers money and undue stress for everyone.
FFS.
Imagine you’re not allowed to use your washing machine if you’re under 18.
It will get repealed when all the always-working parents can't stand "teenager smell."
The law only specifies "computer, mobile device, or any other general purpose computing device."
Which is extremely vague. It appears that the intention was to just affect end user devices. Not specific purpose systems.
I'm going to report the shit out of any of these companies if they have locations in California and Colorado (if it passes in CO). If the law is scoped that wide, there's no way they'll actually be compliant. Even corporate desk phones have an OS. :-D