[GoLUG] California age verification is nonsense

[Kyle Terrien]

Resident Californian checking in.  Yes, this is a stupid law, but it
is far from the first.  Our governments attract some of the most
manipulative parasitic people you can imagine.

System76 engineer jackpot51 has proposed a simple possible
implementation of AB 1043:

https://www.reddit.com/r/pop_os/comments/1rfqyf8/comment/o7q34wu/

> This bill does not require any identifying information about users
> to be stored, outside of potentially their age fitting into one of
> four brackets (read the bill!). It is possible for a minimum
> implementation to simply not allow the operating system to run if
> the user says they are under 18 and in the state of California. Keep
> in mind that there are no requirements for a user to even tell the
> truth, and the operating system is not liable if they lie about
> their age.

So, an installation wizard can ask, “Do you identify as 18+?” and the
user can say, “Yes.”  (This is a mental reservation because you are
withholding your personal information from an unjust demand.)

jackpot51 then passes some justified condemnation:

> Signed, my deepest and dearest disdain to Gavin Newsom and the
> California State Assembly.

Sigh... a first-hand note about Gavin Newsom and how he has hosed
California:

In California, gas is $4.70/gal, a fast food meal costs $15, and you
need to bring your own bags when shopping for groceries.  Gavin Newsom
told millions of people to stay home during COVID while he romped
around dining with his buddies (keyword: “French Laundry”).  He closed
prisons and asylums while the streets of San Francisco and Los Angeles
ran rampant with crime.  Newsom et al have mismanaged things to the
point of absurdity.

When you see the name “Gavin Newsom” in an upcoming presidential
primary, remember all this and think twice before casting your vote.
Regardless of where you are on the political fence, you don’t want his
greasy hair gel.

On Wed, Mar 04, 2026 at 02:46:28PM -0500, Steve Litt wrote:
> What is an "operating system provider?" According to
> https://www.tomshardware.com/software/operating-systems/california-introduces-age-verification-law
> it's "anyone who "develops, licenses, or controls the operating system
> software on a computer, mobile device, or any other general purpose
> computing device". My UMENU and VimOutliner programs can both be
> MacGyvered to make OS calls, so do I qualify for the draconian,
> lose-the-house $2,500 per affected child penalty? I have no choice but
> to go back and re-license every one of the projects I've creates (and
> there are others besides UMENU and VimOutliner), forbidding their use
> in California.

Ah, the dangers of corrupting children with UMENU and VimOutliner!  😆

Fortunately, you don’t have to do any verification (yet).  So, if
you’re worried, you can require a setting be set that indicates the
user “identifies as 18+”.  (Use whatever phrasing you feel works
best.)

However, tweaking the license to exclude Californians will
automatically drop “free/libre” and “open source” statuses.  Such a
requirement violates the “no additional restrictions” clause of both
the free software definition and the open source definition.  In fact,
adding such a restriction to GPL-licensed software is probably
illegal, and GPL has some harsh /ipso facto/ penalties for dealing
with violations.

(I am not a lawyer, so please correct me if I am mistaken.)

> I can understand doing this for Windows, where increasingly there's no
> gap between OS and Internet. And maybe Steam, so that eight year olds
> don't have access to some stupid "Shoot Up Your School" game. I
> understand and approve of age verification on all social media: I was a
> parent before my kids grew up. But a real OS that simply runs hardware,
> HELL no!

The problem is that politicians still think the Internet is a “series
of tubes”, and an operating system is “Microsoft or Apple”.  So, when
a lobbyist approaches them with big money and suave propaganda,
politicians will believe anything.

But mark my words: AB 1043 is just the beginning.  They want digital
IDs, and they are coming for your state too.

--Kyle

-- 
[*] Kyle Terrien
    Terrenus => from the Earth, to the Cloud
    https://terren.us/

Dilexisti justitiam, et odisti iniquitatem.  -- Psalmus 44:8