{"id":246042,"date":"2026-05-14T14:58:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T18:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/14\/linux-devs-are-fighting-the-new-age-gated-internet\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T15:20:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T19:20:07","slug":"linux-devs-are-fighting-the-new-age-gated-internet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/14\/linux-devs-are-fighting-the-new-age-gated-internet\/","title":{"rendered":"Linux devs are fighting the new age-gated internet"},"content":{"rendered":"

Linux devs are fighting the new age-gated internet<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/tech\/930573\/age-verification-bills-linux-open-source<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-05-14 14:58:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: www.theverge.com<\/a><\/p>\n

In January, Colorado lawmakers introduced a proposal to make operating systems collect users\u2019 ages and pass them to app developers. The bill, SB26-051, had clearly been designed for commercial platforms like iOS and Android \u2014 one of numerous plans to age-gate the internet through users\u2019 devices. It was intended to provide information that would let developers disable age-inappropriate experiences for kids. But as it made the rounds online, Linux laptop maker Carl Richell read the proposal with dismay.<\/p>\n

Carl Richell is the founder and CEO of Dever-based System76, which also develops the Pop!_OS Linux distribution. The law, he realized, would likely apply to his own small business. Without the resources of a company like Apple and Google, complying with Colorado\u2019s bill would be a major logistical headache. More broadly, Richell believed it would betray the principles of open source and limit its potential. Open source is \u201cthe best way to learn computing,\u201d he told The Verge. \u201cThere is nothing like learning from example, and the Linux desktop is a free, open-source example of how to build an entire operating system.\u201d A system that can restrict how children use it \u2014 by blocking their ability to interact with certain apps or denying them root access, both possible outcomes of an age-gating system \u2014 \u201cbreaks that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Richell began working with state lawmakers. He spent weeks pushing for changes and sharing updates online. On April 23rd, he appeared before a Colorado House of Representatives committee meeting to make his case. \u201cEveryone should have access to the ability to create with a computer,\u201d Richell testified. \u201cOpen-source software makes that possible. It ensures that everyone, regardless of age or background, can learn, experiment, and build at the most fundamental level.\u201d In its original form, the bill, he warned, \u201cunintentionally swept that world into its scope.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have created a template that I hope other legislatures adopt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Linux devs are fighting the new age-gated internet https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/tech\/930573\/age-verification-bills-linux-open-source Publish Date: 2026-05-14 14:58:00 Source Domain:…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":246043,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/platform.theverge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/268521_Age_verification_bills_have_a_Linux_issue_CVirginia.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C10.732984293194%2C100%2C78.534031413613&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[71],"class_list":["post-246042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-linux","tag-linux"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246042"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246042"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246042\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":246045,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246042\/revisions\/246045"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}