I’m so glad someone who can fight it is fighting it. They usually listen to companies more than people.
I’m saddened Democrats are pushing this before the midterms. They’re going to fumble this if they keep on this track.
this post was submitted on 10 Mar 2026
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California, Colorado and New York now.
Honestly is getting insane.
Given how many states are pushing legislation like this and how quickly they're doing it, there's effectively no way to push back against it...
I do hope that they stop this bullshit though.
I really don't understand what the value they see in putting age checks on operating systems. Like where is this coming from? Who whispered in their ear that OS age checks are something that need to be done?
From what I can tell, the 'age' part is misdirection. They want to restrict computer use to the "good" people, to make it "safer".
Using age restrictions first allows legislation to be passed "for the children" using the idea of potential harm to theoretical children. However, in practice, legislators expect the implementation of the age check to be capable of checking anything else they want to about your identity, as a prerequisite for access. Probably using a combination of face scans and ID scans.
The whole law is dumb. They need to create a standard universal method first. So when does this protection get applied? Can't somebody just boot a thumb drive?
Can't somebody just boot a thumb drive?
This has gotten me especially curious about Tails.
It’s a solution that seems so divorced from reality… I don’t quite understand how the expectation is reasonable, unless the goal is to force complaints to surface from the OS developers so that they can refine future versions of the law with more accuracy.
Because Linux distributions can be created free-willy. Just check out Linux From Scratch, Gentoo, etc. Same with live boot from USB, same with stripped down server distros like Alpine — you have the same issue.
Linux isn’t a product in the same way that other products can be regulated. It would make more sense if they defined clearly who this law actually targets, being something that is actually enforceable; something like this:
- Any general-purpose computing device sold to consumers that includes an operating system capable of executing third-party applications…
- All systems built after date must include a MINIX subos that reproduces this API…
- All browsers with GUI must support integration with the API, if they also want to support viewing of sensitive content
- All porn distributors must validate age range via the API exposed via the browser, or refuse serving content
That at least makes some sense. In a way, it only targets PC distributors and porn distributors. The end user could still do whatever they want, but porn distributors may not serve content to them without the functionality described.
Because Linux distributions can be created free-willy. Just check out Linux From Scratch, Gentoo, etc. Same with live boot from USB, same with stripped down server distros like Alpine — you have the same issue.
I don't want to be "that person", but here's how it could play out...
The "free-willy" distros would not fulfill the "trust" requirements needed to pass the "certification process". You can still use them, but think of it like running custom firmware on your cellphone: you're not going to be able to access your bank, but somethings will still work.
Larger distros (Red Hat, Ubuntu, etc) would pay to pass the "certification process", but this would come by making certain concessions:
- The kernel would not be allowed to be tainted. Which means you can only use official kernel modules provided by your vendor (no self-compiling)
- Certain kernel modules would needed to be removed (or nerfed). For example the Fuse filesystem.
- You could probably keep root access or at least a nerfed version of it.
Then with theses concessions, your PC world be deemed "reliable" to perform the necessary age verification and have this confirmation passed through your browser to your favor porn site.
Damn, that sounds like gunk. I’ve been so exciting about the day and age when phones reach the same level of customizability as a PC. Little did I know, they want to phoneify the PCs instead.
Lmao does the register really cite Reddit as a source? it was a cesspool off missinformation on the CA bill, I doubt it's any better on the CO one.
Why not link to the actual bill like it does for other states?
It's also wildly disingenuous to lump the bills that require verification and those that just require an OS store an unverified age and return it, but that's what I'd expect from reddit.
I don't want either. And it's a slippery slope to the next stage, and the next. Eventually we will have no control over what we own and zero privacy.
There's still valid concern about this being a foot in the door tactic. Once an OS complies with this request what will the next one be? Why should this even be allowed?
Either way though, the reddit citation is a bit unnerving.
It's a gray area. If you have nothing to "protect the kids", the feds might force it on a "non-compliant" state right now considering the fascism permeating our highest governments.
We're starting to see desperate legislation more and more often. As a resident of CA, we had to vote FOR gerrymandering recently. It was disgusting, but it was direly needed to preserve democracy in the US.
Are we talking about biological age or mental age which means that most adults are still just honey teens with just a tad better impulse control?
So you are advocating for Leasure Suit Larry age verification questions.
Can I just type 'roxorz boxorz' and be done with it.
Honey teens sounds like a twister variant invented on Epstein island