California Lawmakers Pass Exemption for Open-Source OS from Digital Age Assurance Act

Legislative Action on Age Verification

California lawmakers have passed Assembly Bill 1856, which introduces an exemption for open-source operating systems from the State’s Digital Age Assurance Act. The original act is scheduled to become effective on January 1, 2027. The Senate approved the amended bill with a 39-0 vote, and the Assembly subsequently accepted these changes.

Exemption for Open-Source Software

The amendments redefine "operating system provider" to exclude entities distributing OS or applications under licenses that permit copying, redistribution, and modification. This specifically includes software under GPL, MIT, BSD, and Apache licenses, thereby exempting distributions like Debian, Fedora, Ubuntu, Arch, and BSD from the law's scope. This change addresses concerns about age data collection requirements for open-source projects.

Scope of Exclusions

Further exclusions cover software components not offered as stand-alone executable applications through covered app stores, such as libraries and dependencies distributed via package managers. Additionally, storefronts distributing extensions or add-ons that operate exclusively within a host application, like browser extension stores, are also excluded. These provisions aim to narrow the law's application to specific types of software and distribution channels.

Clarifications to User Definitions and Data Requests

The amendments also remove the original definition of "user," which had broadly classified every device owner in California as a child. This change ensures the law's signaling framework can properly differentiate between adult and child users. A new provision prohibits requesting an age signal from an OS provider or app store unless legally mandated, preventing potential misuse of the age API for general data collection.