System76 CEO Carl Richell reports that Colorado and California have successfully exempted open source software from age attestation requirements. The legislation recognizes that open source projects operate differently from commercial software, avoiding data collection, targeted advertising, and addictive design patterns that children's safety laws typically regulate.

The exemption resulted from direct engagement with lawmakers in both states. System76 coordinated with community members and lobbyists to craft language protecting privacy while exempting open source software, code repositories, and container registries. Their strategy involved establishing a precedent in Colorado that could influence California, creating a model for other states.

As a result of this legislative win, Pop!_OS and the COSMIC Desktop Environment will not include age verification features. This victory comes amid global trends toward age verification requirements, with similar laws emerging worldwide from Australia to Brazil to Europe.