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California introduces age verification law for all operating systems, including Linux and SteamOS — user age verified during OS account setup (www.tomshardware.com)

submitted 3 days ago by Amoxtli@thelemmy.club to c/technology@lemmy.world

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[–] BartyDeCanter@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

That is correct. Every program that is downloadable on the internet, from a big commercial application store, a open source repository, a single project webpage, or a random personal hobby site that has a single file on it that gets an update after 1/1/2026 must request your age bracket when it is downloaded. Or launched. Every singe one, every single time.

Since I took at look at your user profile, that means you would need to add that to all of your github and itch.io projects. And if they are included in some other packaging system, you better be sure that they are doing it as well. Otherwise you will be personally responsible for a $2500-$7500 fine every time a kid downloads one of your games.

Impossible? Certainly not. But why the fuck should we have to do that? Why should every bit of code you put up on the internet be required to check the age API every time it is run? What are you going to do?

[–] BennyTheExplorer@lemmy.world 1 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago) (1 children)

Yeah, don't get me wrong, this is an insane law. It makes no sense and it is utterly ridiculous and dystopian.

I am just saying, that it is still manageable to continue, we shouldn't give up. We should continue to fight against this law, but we can also realistically keep distributing our software regardless of this law.

I think, the age thing only has to be implemented by the operating system, not by every piece if software. We as app developers can then choose to use an API to age restrict our apps, if we want to.

We just have to make sure our app isn't recognized as an operating system in itself.

[–] BartyDeCanter@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago)

I’m definitely not saying we give up, but this absolutely does impact every developer, not just OS developers. Go read the bill, but here are the relevant parts:

(c) “Application” means a software application that may be run or directed by a user on a computer, a mobile device, or any other general purpose computing device that can access a covered application store or download an application.

(e) (1) “Covered application store” means a publicly available internet website, software application, online service, or platform that distributes and facilitates the download of applications from third-party developers to users of a computer, a mobile device, or any other general purpose computing that can access a covered application store or can download an application.

(f) “Developer” means a person that owns, maintains, or controls an application.

(b) (1) A developer shall request a signal with respect to a particular user from an operating system provider or a covered application store when the application is downloaded and launched.

Based on a very narrow reading of the “covered application store” definition, a personal website that only has applications developed by that person might be able to get around the age bracket request, but the application itself is still covered. As things like itch.io, crates.io, flathub, PyPI, and every package repo.