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Current legislation in California and Colorado requires operating systems to collect age information during setup, but these laws generally rely on self-declaration rather than mandatory government ID verification. California’s Digital Age Assurance Act (effective January 1, 2027) mandates that OS providers ask for a user’s age and share an age bracket signal with applications, while Colorado’s similar bill (effective July 1, 2028)
exempts open-source operating systems like Linux.
A proposed federal law, the Parents Decide Act, would expand these requirements nationwide, potentially requiring parental verification for minors, but it does not explicitly mandate government ID uploads for all users.
While privacy advocates warn that tech companies may implement stricter verification methods (such as biometrics or ID uploads) in practice to avoid legal liability, the statutes themselves currently define "verification" as a declared age input.
Consequently, Linux distributions and privacy-focused OS providers like GrapheneOS are resisting compliance, with some opting to restrict sales in affected regions or refuse age checks entirely.
exempts open-source operating systems like Linux.
A proposed federal law, the Parents Decide Act, would expand these requirements nationwide, potentially requiring parental verification for minors, but it does not explicitly mandate government ID uploads for all users.
While privacy advocates warn that tech companies may implement stricter verification methods (such as biometrics or ID uploads) in practice to avoid legal liability, the statutes themselves currently define "verification" as a declared age input.
Consequently, Linux distributions and privacy-focused OS providers like GrapheneOS are resisting compliance, with some opting to restrict sales in affected regions or refuse age checks entirely.