Explainer: California moves to exempt open-source software like Linux from age verification

California lawmakers have passed a bill that would exempt qualifying open-source operating systems from the state’s age-verification requirements. Assembly Bill 1856 says that an operating system provider “does not mean a person or entity that distributes an operating system or application under license terms that permit a recipient to copy, redistribute, and modify the software.” An earlier version would also have extended the age-signal duty to web browsers and website operators, and lawmakers