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Comment by nottorp | original | California lawmakers unanimously pass Linux exemption from age-verification law
[−]nottorp · 2026-08-30 Sun 07:25 UTC · link
Linux?

Or also BSD, ReactOS, hobby OS #24562 etc... ?

[−]deaddodo · 2026-08-30 Sun 07:45 UTC · link
They include the majority of OSI licenses, including BSD. So the majority of BSD variants are included.
[−]throw-qqqqq · 2026-08-30 Sun 07:51 UTC · link
Yes also BSD and friends.

From TFA

> These amendments redefine the term “operating system provider” to exclude any person or entity that distributes an OS or application “under license terms that permit a recipient to copy, redistribute, and modify the software.” Any software distributed under the GPL, MIT, BSD, and Apache licenses satisfies that test, which removes the likes of Debian, Fedora, Ubuntu, Arch, and the BSD family from AB 1856’s scope.

[−]rwmj · 2026-08-30 Sun 10:55 UTC · link
It's kind of weird though. Is VxWorks (a proprietary embedded OS used on some of the Martian rovers) going to require it in case some underage Martians try to use Facebook?
[−]nottorp · 2026-08-30 Sun 15:19 UTC · link
I'm sure they have a feature that also asks for species. Martians being longer lived than humans, they come of age at around 42.
[−]miniwark · 2026-08-30 Sun 08:05 UTC · link
According to the article: "it's any OS or application “under license terms that permit a recipient to copy, redistribute, and modify the software.”"

The article then explicitly cite "Debian, Fedora, Ubuntu, Arch, and the BSD family".

There is also another exclusion for libraries and software from a packages managers like apt and pacman.

So from my understanding ReactOS, hobby OS but also CP/M, FreeDOS, Haiku or Collapse OS...

[−]odo1242 · 2026-08-30 Sun 12:45 UTC · link
Anything that’s open source