I'm not from the US, but I'm curious about the implications of the age verification bill for the Linux community. As a newbie drawn to Linux for its ownership and open-source nature, I'm wondering: can this bill actually be enforced, or are there ways around it for developers and users?
6 Answers
If distros decide not to comply with the age verification bill, they might face fines, but that's a big 'if' since the community is so decentralized and anonymous.
With open source, it's hard to build unbreakable walls. If you don’t like certain features, you can revert to older versions or use alternatives. Even if regulations come into play, it could take ages to get community consensus on how to implement them effectively. It's almost like trying to enforce traffic laws when everyone drives differently.
True, but if you're a company operating under certain laws, you can't just ignore them. There will be consequences if you don't comply, especially if you're distributing software.
This law is designed to give you ownership of your device. If an app store doesn't play by the rules you set with your age, you have the legal right to challenge them. But a lot of misconceptions about this bill are floating around; many people aren't reading it closely enough.
I mean, if I get app recommendations I don’t like, I usually just ignore them. Do I really need a law for that?
Making people run code they don’t want under threat doesn't sound like true ownership to me. That feels more like coercion!
And what about all the conflicting laws in other states or countries? Why should I care about California's laws in particular?
While users can bypass these checks, if enough developers start integrating these requirements into their applications, it could become a hassle. It's more about compliance than strict enforcement, especially for big companies like Google or Apple, which might take it more seriously.
They can make age checks mandatory for software that's shipped out, but they can't stop users from bypassing it since the source code is open and accessible. So, in a way, it's more about what developers have to adhere to rather than what users can do.
So it's really on the devs to implement these checks, but ultimately, users can just choose their age—or bypass it altogether.
Right, there's nothing technically stopping anyone from specifying any age they like!
Depending on how the law is enforced in certain states, there may be some level of influence over what software you can use. But outside of that, it seems pretty murky.
But why would they bother with fines if the developers aren't based in the US? That seems unfair.